Were Dripping In It

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 15: My Time

“So, what exactly happened to the Stray Kids Gang?” Jungkook asked as he moved about the kitchen, making some dinner while Namjoon sat at the counter working on some paperwork with his dark rimmed glasses perched on his face.

“Hmm,” Namjoon hummed in question, his hand not faltering from his steady writing as he listened to Jungkook repeat his question.

“I mean, how did you guys put a stop to them so easily? They seemed like a big group,” Jungkook said as he rinsed some chicken breast in the sink before setting it in a marinade sauce to soak while he worked on chopping some vegetables.

Namjoon chuckled, “They were actually relatively small for a company, only a hundred lackeys in all. And that included the eight that made up Bangchan’s Inner Circle. As to what happened to them, well Tae was relatively tame honestly. Nothing our doctors couldn’t fix, most are being integrated into our outside territories. None can be trusted in Seoul.”

Jungkook nodded as he pulled a cutting board out and started slicing some bell peppers, “Is that what you do with most gangs? Integrate them into yours?”

“Unfortunately no,” Namjoon states firmly, flipping a page over to start filling out the back. “The Stray Kids Gang was a bit of a special case, there was only a handful of men within it that was truly on Bangchan’s side. We were trying a new method of infiltration with them, instead of outright fighting the company head on we slowly replaced their men with our own.”

“Then if most of the men were yours, why were you so mad at Han when he was starting to turn on you?” Jungkook asked, moving to chop some green onions next.

“Han was the closest to Bangchan, one of his most trusted at the time, he had been undercover the longest. When he started to show signs of turning against us, we needed to move fast. He could have revealed our entire operation to him.” Namjoon explained, running a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t Bangchan knowing that worried us, it was our methods getting out. If even one man got word to the underground about our operation, we’d never be able to use it again. And there are much bigger companies we would need to use it on. The Stray Kids Gang was a test for that method.”

“What did you do with Bangchan? He obviously wouldn’t have fallen in line easily.” Jungkook pointed out, shivering slightly at the memory of the man’s cold eyes.

Namjoon nodded, “You’re right, he wouldn’t. Which is why we have him locked-up in the Voyage house.”

“Weren’t you just worried about Jin-hyung escaping that place,” Jungkook asked, pointing his chef’s knife at Namjoon as he spoke. “How do you know he’s not going to escape?”

Namjoon smiled serenely at him, unbothered by the sharp object pointed at his face. “Because Bangchan is not Seokjin, thank goodness, he hasn’t had the type of training that your brother has. And Seokjin knows that house like the back of his hand, he could escape in his sleep.”

“I suppose that is the difference between them,” Jungkook murmured in agreement, returning his blade to the cutting board to chop some lettuce. “Does it bother you that I’m questioning your decisions about these things?”

Namjoon’s pen paused and he looked at Jungkook seriously through his lenses, “No it doesn’t, it honestly makes me happy that you feel like you can challenge me about these things. Even if you don’t understand all the reasons why I’m doing it, but that’s only because you don’t have all the information like I do. I hope it's not too bold of me to say, but I want you to be my partner Jungkook, not my subordinate when you join my company. I’ll always want to hear your opinion on things.”

Jungkook felt his cheeks heat with pleasure at Namjoon’s honesty, he smiled softly as he gazed at the man across from him. “I’ll continue asking then, you’ll get sick of my questions eventually.”

“Never,” Namjoon promised, smiling back before returning to his paperwork.

Jungkook chuckled as he placed all of his chopped vegetables into separate bowls before pulling the chicken out to chop it into small, bitesize cubes. “What exactly is involved in the training for your crew?”

“It’s actually pretty similar to military training,” Namjoon started to explain but paused when a thought occurred to him, he looked up at Jungkook. “Have you done your military service yet?”

Jungkook shook his head, meeting Namjoon’s gaze. “I’ve been waiting for my letter to arrive for the last two years, but it hasn’t.”

Namjoon clicked his tongue, “Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If you end up at least starting our version of boot camp before you leave for your service, you’ll be more than prepared for it.”

Jungkook nodded as he placed the cubed chicken back into the marinade and started washing his hands. “Did you do your military service already?”

Namjoon nodded and chuckled at Jungkook’s quiet murmur of ‘no wonder you’re so buff’. “I completed it as soon as I was of age. While my company doesn’t control anything to do with the military, you could say we have a certain influence to speed things up. Most of my men go through their military service immediately after passing our training, we don’t need them being called to serve in the middle of a mission.”

“Would you do that for me?” Jungkook asked, wiping his hands on a dish towel before starting to pull out various pots and pans.

“If you’d like,” Namjoon said softly, pulling a different stack of papers over to him. “I can start the process of claiming your records from them tomorrow. Even if you choose not to go through our training, you can at least choose when you will serve your military time.”

“If you keep doubting that I’ll go through on becoming part of your crew, I’ll throw this knife at you.” Jungkook threatened, pointing the chef knife at him.

“Violence is very sexy on you, baby.” Namjoon chuckled, not even glancing up from his papers. Jungkook rolled his eyes as he continued making their dinner, he was just starting to heat the oil after starting the rice maker when Jin walked into the kitchen.

Namjoon didn’t even glance at the man as he sat down in the stool next to him and started looking over the papers across the counter.

“You’re still fighting the drug cartels, Namjoon-ah, it’s been two years.” Jin scolded, flicking through various papers with his crooked fingers. The cast on his left wrist not hindering his movements at all. “They still won’t come to an agreement.”

Namjoon hummed as his pen continued to flow over the page in front of him, “They haven’t liked our changes to the contract they’ve given us.”

“Too many loopholes to benefit them, I guess.” Nodding when Namjoon hummed in agreement. “Why aren’t you just plowing them over and demanding their cooperation?”

Namjoon gave Jin a swift look before returning his gaze back down as he flipped another page over.

“Ah, I forgot.” Jin hummed in amusement. “You’re a pacifist, would rather try and talk to them for two years instead of just beating them bloody.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes and set his pen down, fixing a look at Jin. “Do you know how well connected the NCT Gang is?”

“Here we go again, I have not missed your lectures.” Jin muttered under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at Namjoon.

“They are the largest and oldest drug dealers in history, most of the drugs around the world come from them. They have the largest underground manufacturing plant in the world. If I knew where it was, I’d have their operation in my hands before they could blink.” Namjoon states coldly, placing his linked hands on the counter. “It’s their most guarded secret, one I’m determined to know. So yes, I’ll continue arguing with their silly little contracts for another two years until they tell me.”

“What? Has Hoba lost his touch?” Jin scoffed, unfazed by Namjoon’s cold eyes. “Just sicc your big brother after him, I’m sure he’ll find their ‘secret lab’ in no time.”

“He’s tried, like I said it’s well hidden. There hasn’t been a record of its last location for fifty years.” Namjoon countered, sighing heavily as he dragged a hand down his face. “That's why I’m even entertaining their negotiations in the first place. Hobi needs more time to find it so we can make our move against them.”

Jungkook listened to all of this while he fried the chicken in the hot oil and sauteed the vegetables in some butter and spices.

“You make it sound like it's some lost treasure from a pirates movie,” Jin scoffed, rolling his eyes as Namjoon goes back to his paperwork. “Yah Jungkook-ah, are you sure you’re making that sauce right?”

Jungkook leveled a look at his brother over his shoulder, “Are you sure you’re allowed to judge my cooking skills? Don’t you have some soul searching to do, or maybe some meditation?”

Jin blinked, “Have you always been this sassy?”

Namjoon snorted when Jungkook simply stuck out his tongue as an answer before turning back to the stove top.

“How long do I have to wear this?” Jin asked as they sat down at the dining room table, lifting his leg to show off the ankle monitor on it.

“Until I can figure out how to wipe your memory of all the secrets you know,” Namjoon says with a smile, popping a piece of fried chicken into his mouth.

“You can’t put my brother into a coma, Namjoon,” Jungkook scolds before stuffing his face with a scoop of rice, humming happily as he chews it.

Jin blinks as he raises a scoop of food to his mouth, he looks over at Namjoon in shock. “You let him talk to you like that?”

Namjoon shrugs, “Why shouldn’t he? He’s my boyfriend, he can talk to me any way he likes.”

Jin opened his mouth then shrugged, stuffing his mouth with his scoop of food as he looked between the pair. His eyes narrow as he watches them pass small bowls of food to each other and as Namjoon opens a bottle of water for Jungkook, placing it in front of him before opening his own.

“You two,” Jin cuts in, making the couple look over at him as he points his chopsticks at them, “are way too cozy to have only dated for three weeks, what gives?”

Jungkook stared at his hyung in confusion, “I have no idea what you mean hyung.”

Jin narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to say something but the sound of the doorbell cuts him off.

“You don’t have a door, we came in through the elevator.” Jungkook says in confusion, looking over at Namjoon.

“It’s the intercom bell,” Namjoon explains, but doesn’t get up to see who it is. A moment later, Jimin comes around the corner. “You have the code Jiminie, why did you ring the bell?”

“Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t interrupting anything.” Jimin says slyly with a shrug, moving into the seat next to Jungkook and waving off the offer of food from him. “You asked to see me Namjoonie-hyung.”

Namjoon nodded, leaning back against his chair. “I want you to tell Jungkook what you found out about his BioChem professor.”

“Oh him,” Jimin says with an eye roll. “He was a real creep, Jungkook-ah, I don’t know how you put up with him.”

“I didn’t exactly have much of a choice,” Jungkook muttered, stuffing a piece of fried chicken into his mouth.

“Well he’s a class A creeper in more ways than one. His ‘tutoring’ session he tried to have you come to, was a cover for luring his students to his house.” Jimin explains, pulling out his phone and handing it to Jungkook. “He buried all of his victims under the foundation, most of them have been missing for the past few months but there are older bodies too. He’s been at this for a while.”

Jungkook swallowed thickly as he scrolled down the list of names and faces of the victims of his professor, some were young. Too young to be college students. “What did you do to him?”

Jimin hummed happily as he recounted, “I hung him by his intestines from his chandelier, then left an anonymous tip to the police. I think he finally died by the time they arrive on scene, whether it was from the blood loss or the choking we’ll never know.”

“It was probably the blood loss,” Jungkook says, setting the phone down and leaning back against his chair. “I assume you cut more than just his stomach to get to the intestines, shock would have entered the body as the blood left him. He probably wouldn’t have even felt his lack of oxygen.”

Jimin blinked, “I’ll remember that for next time then.”

Jungkook hummed as he tilted his head up to the ceiling, resting his head against the back of the chair. He crossed his arms over his chest, “If we find out another one of my professors is secretly a serial killer, I’m quitting school on the spot.”

Jin looks over at him, “You really think joining Namjoon’s company is going to be safer than staying at school?”

“Did the word safer come out of my fucking mouth, hyung?” Jungkook asked, not even moving to see the man blink in shock. “No, I don’t think it’ll be safer or easier or whatever the fuck you think I’d think it is. But at least I’d be informed upfront on who is trying to kill me and who isn’t.”

“Technically it would be safer,” Jimin cuts in, laying a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “You have the most powerful man in all of South Korea at your beck and call. Only the truly stupid would try and lay a finger on you.”

Namjoon placed his hand on the table top, offering it to Jungkook. Jungkook places his hand into it without hesitation, dropping his head to look at him. “No one can do anything to you without your permission, but if it’ll make you feel safer, I can have Hobi give you some light training while you are still at school. As much as I would love to hide you away from the world, I can’t. You might not have any family on the outside that would report your absence, but the school would. That’s one of the reasons why I want you to finish this semester.”

Jungkook nodded, “I didn’t even think about that. If Hobi-hyung has the time, I’d like for him to train me a bit.”

“He’ll make time for you,” Namjoon promised, placing a kiss on his knuckles. “Jimin, can you keep an eye on Seokjin?”

Jimin nodded as Namjoon led Jungkook out of the room, up the stairs, and into a pair of double doors at the far end of the balcony walkway. Jungkook doesn’t even glance around the large room, as soon as he clocks the large bed, he shuffles over to it. He kicks off his house shoes and scoots inside the covers, laying across the mattress on his stomach.

He hears Namjoon shuffle behind him for a moment before joining him on the bed. Jungkook sighs as Namjoon lays against his side, his heavy, warm weight across him like a weighted blanket. Namjoon presses his forehead against the back of Jungkook’s neck, his breath hits his skin with a warm waft sending goosebumps down his spine.

Jungkook lays his hand over Namjoon’s on his stomach and closes his eyes. As he drifts off to sleep the last thing he feels are Namjoon’s lips against the back of his neck.

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 13: Do you think that makes sense?

“I want to speak to my brother today,” Jungkook announced at breakfast the next morning. All eyes turn to him as he fiddles with the t-shirt he was borrowing from Namjoon, he looks up at them. “I want to talk to him before we move him to the new place.”

Namjoon and Yoongi glance at each other for a moment before nodding their consent to Jungkook.

“You can see him today,” Namjoon agrees, taking a sip of his coffee. “The doctors told us yesterday that he woke up and is in good health. Apart from a broken wrist and a slightly crushed windpipe, they say he’ll make a full recovery in a few months.”

Jungkook winced then paused, “I didn’t break his wrist.” He whispers in confusion, narrowing his eyes at the sheepish look on Taehyung’s face.

“I owed him a broken wrist,” Taehyung muttered, flexing his left wrist on the table and giving no other explanation but Jungkook could guess what he meant.

“Does anybody else ‘owe’ my brother a bodily injury that I should know about?” Jungkook inquired, looking around the table with his arms crossed. He gives a sigh of relief when everyone shakes their heads. “I also have another announcement to make this morning.”

The men blink at him as they wait for him to speak, side eyeing the smirk on Namjoon’s face with suspicion.

“I’ve discussed it with Namjoon and I’ve decided to go through the training process to become a part of the Bulletproof Company,” he pauses to sip on his coffee, “after I finish my semester at Hybe University, of course.”

“Why wait?” Jimin asks with a wave of his hand. “You could probably get both done at the same time without breaking a sweat.”

Jungkook chuckled and pointed a finger at his boyfriend across the table, “You can take it up with him, that was his stipulation on all of this.”

Namjoon shrugged when the eyes of the table turned to him in disbelief, “It gives him time to change his mind if he wants to, about joining us and about me. And it gives us time to prepare the men for the whirlwind that will be entering the company soon.”

Jungkook scoffed and rolled his eyes, he opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Yoongi’s own scoff of protest.

“No amount of time is going to prepare anyone for the muscle bunny that’s about to hit our streets, they might as well count their prayers now.” Yoongi chuckled and pushed himself away from the table. “We have a meeting at noon, don’t be late Namjoon-ah.”

Namjoon hummed in acknowledgement as Yoongi left the room chuckling as he went. Taehyung sighed happily as he watched his husband walk out, placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand, a dreamy look on his face.

“I can’t believe these two are still this disgusting with each other, even after seven years.” Jimin mutters, side eyeing his hyung in disgust before following Jungkook’s lead to clear the table of their dishes and carry them back into the kitchen.

“You’ve been with them that long, hyung?” Jungkook asked, setting the dishes into the sink and starting the water to wash them.

“Yep and let me tell yah, it made the days between my initiations pass by disgustingly quickly.” Jimin said, lifting himself up onto the counter to watch Jungkook clean.

Jungkook looks over at Jimin in confusion, “Initiations? You had to do multiple?”

“I was a scout for my previous crew,” Jimin starts to explain. “I had to prove my loyalty to them, being a scout comes with a certain level of mistrust. I basically spied on hundreds of companies and stole their secrets right under their noses to give an edge to the company that sent me. Namjoon-hyung had to make sure that I wouldn’t do the same to him. It’s only been for the past three years that I’ve truly become a part of the Inner Circle.”

Jungkook nods as he places the clean dishes on the drying rack next to the sink, “What made you join Namjoon’s crew?”

Jimin shrugs, “The Bulletproof Company took down the one I was a part of. They were doing a sweep through Korea, taking down any companies that stepped out of line. As the new powerhouse, it was their right to do so. Hobi-hyung was the one that came to take the White Tigers out, he only spared me. I earned the title the Last White Tiger of Busan after that day.”

Jungkook paused his scrubbing to look at his friend, “Do you have any regrets about being here?”

“Hell no,” Jimin bursts out, chuckling at Jungkook’s blink of surprise. “The White Tigers were tyrants, Jungkook-ah, they got what was coming to them. I have no regrets coming to the Bulletproof Company. This crew has been the closest thing to family I’ve ever known.”

“Aw Jiminie I knew you loved us!” Taehyung burst out, running into the kitchen and pulling Jimin down for a soul crushing hug.

“Tae, you’re squishing me!” Jimin whined through squished cheeks, but didn’t push the taller man away. Taehyung crushed him tighter against his chest while Jungkook chuckled at the pair as he finished the dishes.

“Are you ready to go see your brother, baby?” Namjoon asked, sidestepping the pair to stand behind Jungkook as he finished the last dish.

“Yep,” Jungkook nodded, wiping his wet hands on a dishtowel. “Lead the way!”

“Have fun in the sex dungeon, kiddos! Make sure to clean up any mess you leave!” Jimin cackled after them, making Namjoon choke and trip over his feet as he led Jungkook out of the room.

“It's not a sex dungeon!” He protested indignantly, his voice a bit squeaky as he looked wide eyed at Jungkook.

“It's not?” Jungkook pouted as he walked around Namjoon. “Well, that’s disappointing.”

Namjoon gulped at the sultry look Jungkook threw him over his shoulder, before shaking himself and continuing leading them towards the fireplace in the foyer. He pulled a hidden lever behind one of the bricks, making a hidden staircase appear before them.

Jungkook whistled lowly as the lights flickered onto the stone stairs, “You must have been dying to show me that.”

“It’s a cool feature on this house,” Namjoon agreed with a smile, gesturing for Jungkook to follow him as he descended. “There’s a series of tunnels that branch off from here, under the main house. They lead to a secondary location in case we ever need to make a quick escape without being spotted.”

Jungkook hummed in understanding as they reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a stone passageway that branched into several directions. Namjoon led him down one of the right paths until they came up a series of jail cells.

“I’ll wait right here, if you need me, he’s on the last cell on the left.” Namjoon whispered, stopping in front of the guard’s desk. The guard on duty bowed to the pair and handed Namjoon a file to look over.

Jungkook nodded, took a deep breath, then made his way down the passage. The cells he passed were not empty like he thought, all of them had an occupant who was moaning in quiet pain to some injury. Jungkook held his head high as he passed them, trying not to flinch at the exposed wounds or bloody bandages. He came up to his brother’s cell and looked at the man laying across the bed with a cast on his left wrist and a line of bruises around his neck.

Seokjin’s eyes widen as he comes into view and he sits up in the bed as Jungkook stands in front of the cell door, “How nice of you to come visit me, brother dear. I’d offer you something to drink but the water rounds won’t come for another hour.”

Seokjin’s voice is hoarse as he speaks but Jungkook is relieved that this won’t be a one-sided conversation.

“Do you want me to continue this pointless banter, or get straight into why I’m really here?” Jungkook asks, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning into the bars as he looks at his older brother.

Jin sighs heavily and moves to sit against the stone wall of his cell, “Might as well get it over with, I’d like to wallow in peace with the sounds of groaning men to keep me company.”

“Why did you lie to me about our father? You told me he died on an oil rig,” Jungkook accuses at once. “And then you lied to me again about his journal when I brought it to you. You told me that he liked to write stories to tell you when he came home. Why would you lie about all of that?”

“Because I had to,” Jin answered tiredly. “After I got back from getting revenge on our father’s murderer, I never wanted you to know anything about this life. I wanted you to grow up normally, like any other boy your age. Especially after learning that our mother was a part of this life as well.”

Jungkook absorbed this information with a blank face, but inside he was reeling from the news that his mother had been in a gang as well. “Why didn’t she help you get revenge, or did she?”

Jin shook his head, “She was part of the company that killed him. The man that killed our father was her brother, our uncle. She had helped him plan the assassination of Namjoon, but she never expected our father, her husband, to be there. It broke her to know that the plan she had a hand in creating led to the love of her life dying.”

“Why did they want to kill Namjoon in the first place? Weren’t the companies coming together to make peace that day?” Jungkook pressed impatiently as Jin paused.

Jin scoffed, “Rival Companies are always trying to take out the leader of others, it's the way of life here. And with Namjoon only just taking his father’s place they saw the Bulletproof Company as weak. They thought they could just eliminate him and take over the whole operation. Obviously they were very wrong, you got lucky Jungkook-ah, your new boyfriend is even more powerful than his father ever was. Nobody has tried to take him out since that day. The carnage he left sent quakes through the underground world that still haven’t stopped shaking those that are left behind to remember it.”

“Then why… why did you even pull the stunt you did in Morocco? What was even the point if you knew it was that dangerous to go after them?” Jungkook whispered, clutching the bars in his fists as he stared at his brother. “Do you have a death wish or something?”

Jin laughed coldly, “Death wish? If only it was that simple, I was clouded by grief and anger. When mom died all the anger and sorrow I had buried from our father’s death came back to me. I couldn’t think straight. When I heard you on that damn airplane, everything rushed at me about how stupid I was being.”

“I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if I wasn’t there,” Jungkook muttered, shuttering at the thought.

“So, dear brother, where does that leave us now?” Jin drawled, raising his hands behind his head, ignoring the cast as he leaned back into them. “Are you going to let me rot away in this cell while you play house with your boyfriend. The only family you have left in the world, abandoned for a man you’ve probably only been with for a month at most.”

Jungkook leaned back from the bars, “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with you yet, but unlike you, I won’t be forgetting your existence while living my life. For now enjoy the sounds of groaning men around you, I’ll make sure to tell Namjoon to leave you in peace, for the time being. See you later, Jin-hyung.”

“Now wait a minute! What do you mean by that?! Jungkook! Jungkook-ah!” Jin called after him, pressing his face against the bars as Jungkook backed away.

Jungkook kept his pace steady as he walked away from his brother’s yells and he joined Namjoon’s side once again. Unaware of the cold, dark eyes following his path as he left the lines of jail cells.

Jungkook shook his head when Namjoon started opening his mouth and pleaded with his eyes for them to go back upstairs. Namjoon nodded in understanding, grabbed his hand, and led him back through the passageways. He pulled the lever to shut the hidden door behind them, before pulling him up to his private office.

Namjoon sat on the couch and watched as Jungkook paced back and forth scrubbing his face with his hands. “Are you okay, baby?”

“No,” Jungkook whimpered, dropping his hands from his face. “My whole life has turned upside down and I don’t even know who I am anymore. Everything about my family has been a lie. I could deal with my father being in a gang, that makes a hell more sense then the bullshit Jin-hyung told me. I could deal with Jin-hyung being in a gang, because he honestly seemed like the type anyway. But my mom… and her being the reason my dad died. And it being an uncle I’ve never met to have done it, that’s… that’s a lot Namjoon. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

Namjoon caught Jungkook’s arm as he passed him again and gently pulled him down to sit on the couch, running a soothing hand through his hair. “I don’t know baby, I really don’t know.”

Jungkook sighed and leaned his head against Namjoon’s shoulder, “Any family secrets of yours that you can share to make me feel better?”

Namjoon chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Jungkook’s back, “Despite what you may think, my life hasn’t been all that dramatic with family problems. The only piece of drama we have is that Hobi is my adoptive brother.”

“What? Really?” Jungkook gasped, lifting his head to look at Namjoon’s nodding head.

“My father found him abandoned in a rival company’s warehouse. My mother had me shortly after he was brought home, she raised us together as brothers. I never knew he wasn’t my actual biological brother until the discussions of leadership in the company came up. I assumed Hobi would take the role as the eldest and was shocked to find out he wasn’t blood related. While my parents love him as a son, he has no claim to the leader role. It’s fortunate that Hobi had no aspirations to lead the company, so we never fought over the claim.”

“How very fortunate indeed,” Jungkook sighed. “And here I am with a mountain of emotionally traumatizing family members. I’m a super villain in the making.”

Namjoon chuckled deeply at Jungkook’s dramatics, before sobering up. “You know that you’re family doesn’t define you, right? Their past, their choices, aren’t a reflection on you. And I may not have known your mother, but I knew your father, he was a good man. He taught me everything I know, he gave me the wisdom to take a step back and think before moving to action. I see a lot of him in you actually.”

Jungkook pulled his head away from Namjoon’s shoulder to give him an incredulous look, “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, Namjoon, that my boyfriend sees his father in him. Best thing I’ve heard all day, really.” He snarked, making Namjoon groan in agony.

“You know what I mean,” Namjoon whined, throwing his head back to hit the back of the couch. “You have his passion, his drive, his good nature, and his patience. You got being a little shit all on your own!”

Jungkook giggled at Namjoon’s snark, snuggling back into his arms, tucking his feet underneath him on the couch. They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts as they enjoyed each other’s presence.

“I talked to Yoongi-hyung this morning,” Jungkook muttered, getting a hum from Namjoon in acknowledgement. “He’s insisting that the vacant apartment is mine now, won’t take any money from me for it. Also told me not to worry about moving my stuff in there from my old place, ‘hyung will do it’ he told me and just walked off. So, I guess I’m moving there now.”

“So, that’s where he ran off to,” Namjoon mused, his fingers dancing across Jungkook’s tattooed arm across his chest.

“How’s your own moving process going?” Jungkook asks, playing with one of the buttons on Namjoon’s black dress shirt.

“We’re basically ready to be there by tomorrow, the cleaning crew will be done by tonight and the preparations for moving Seokjin will be finished in the morning.” Namjoon answered, glancing at his watch to check the time. He sighed, “And now I have a meeting to attend with the Enhyphan Gang, Yoongi-hyung will have my head if I’m late.”

Jungkook whined as Namjoon untangled himself from him, placing a kiss on his forehead before leaving the room. He sighed in the empty room as he got more comfortable on the couch, his thoughts wandering back to everything that Jin had told him. Jungkook couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the idea of his entire family having been in the mafia, in some shape or form, then just lied to him about it.

A knock at the door, broke his circle of thought. He titled his head to see Hobi poke his head inside.

“Namjoon is in a meeting with Yoongi-hyung,” Jungkook answered Hobi’s confused face.

“Ah,” he nodded and stepped into the room. “What are you still doing in here then, Jungkook-ah?”

Jungkook shrugged as Hobi picked his feet up, sat down, and dropped them onto his lap. “Just didn’t feel like moving anywhere at the moment.”

Hobi nodded, massaging his ankles with his warm hands as he looked at him, “Do you wanna talk about it? Hyung can help.”

“I really wish you could, hyung.” Jungkook sighed, sniffing lightly.

“Aw Kookie, talk to me please,” Hobi whispered, taking one of his hands into his. “It might help to just talk about it with someone else, I know Joonie probably talked to you. But sometimes you need a friend’s ear.”

Jungkook nodded and took a deep breath before telling him everything that his brother had told him. Detailing all of the lies that Jin had given him his whole life.

Hobi whistled lowly, “Fuck, that’s a lot to be unloaded on you. Did Namjoon say anything that helped?”

Jungkook sighed, “He said that my family’s past doesn’t define me, that I didn’t make the decisions that they did. So, their past mistakes aren’t a reflection on me.”

“He’s right, you know,” Hobi agreed, squeezing Jungkook’s hand. “Your family may have played a part in bringing you into this world and shaping your early years, but you’re a grown man now. The decisions you make now have nothing to do with them. They may have given you morals and guidance, but you ultimately choose to follow them or not. Unfortunately you can’t change the past, so don’t let it stop you from enjoying your present and creating your future.”

“When did you get so wise, hyung?” Jungkook teased, laughing when Hobi smacked his ankle on his lap. “But thank you hyung, that helped. I’m still upset about what they did, but I’ll try not to let it get to me too much.”

Hobi patted his ankle, “Atta boy, you can be upset about it but don’t let it ruin everything. They don’t deserve that kind of power over your life.”

Jungkook nodded feeling much more relaxed after his hyung’s words. “I think Namjoon is worried about how well I’m taking all of this. He won’t say so but I think he’s worried that it’ll hit me one day and I’ll just up and run.”

Hobi snorted through a laugh, “I’ve known you for about two years now, Kookie, I know how tough you are. Joonie has nothing to be worried about there.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Hobi looked at him for a moment before sighing heavily, “I’m sorry to add to your list of people that’ve lied to you, but I’ve known that you were Jin’s brother since I met you.”

Jungkook stares at him in shock, “What?”

“Jin didn’t tell me your name,” Hobi says, looking away from Jungkook’s hurt face. “He only said he had a younger brother. I knew he was trying to protect you from this life, so I kept it a secret. Even from Namjoon and Yoongi-hyung. When you walked in the door of my dance studio for the first time, I knew right away you were Jin’s younger brother. That purple heart pin that you always wear told me. Jin showed it to me and told me to look out for you, if you were ever to show up on our doorstep. ”

“Why didn’t you tell me hyung? Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” Jungkook whispers, his eyes pleading for Hobi to explain.

“Because I made a promise,” Hobi whispered, squeezing Jungkook’s hand and looking over at him tearily. “I made a promise to Jin to protect you and to not tell you the truth. I thought Jin would tell you himself and he made me promise never to ever tell you. I’m sorry that I lied to you Jungkook-ah, but I’m a man of my word, I couldn’t break that promise.”

Jungkook nods slowly, wiping the stray tears off of his face. “I understand hyung. I don’t like it but I can’t change the past now.”

Hobi huffed a quiet laugh, “You are always so understanding, Jungkook-ah. You have no idea how rare that is to find in people.”

Jungkook shrugged, “You know my past hyung, what’s the point of not hearing people out when they want to be honest with you. I don’t want to be vengeful when I don’t know if you had a good reason for not telling me.”

“That’s very wise of you Jungkook-ah, I hope Jin will come around. I know how much you’ve missed having your big brother with you.” Hobi says softly, tightening his hold on Jungkook’s hand.

Jungkook swallows thickly as Hobi’s kind eyes look down at him, “Do you think he’ll ever understand how hard it was for me? It was like one day I didn’t have him anymore, just one day and I was all alone.”

“He will,” Hobi whispered, pulling Jungkook up to hold him against his chest. “When he calms down a bit, you’ll be able to talk to him. You’ll be able to explain everything to him, it’ll knock some sense into his thick skull.”

Jungkook chuckled as he clutched Hobi’s shoulders and laid his head down into the crook of his neck, sniffing lightly as the man’s vanilla body wash.

“Can I say something else I’ve wanted to talk to you about. About Namjoon.” Hobi says after a moment, rocking Jungkook gently in his arms.

Jungkook hums in agreement as he snuggles into Hobi’s chest. Taehyung and Yoongi liked to do this with him when they had a hard talk with him, Jungkook never felt more loved then when he was in one of his hyung’s arms.

“I just want to say to be careful with him.” Hobi whispers, tightening his arms around Jungkook. “He’s my little brother and he’s more innocent than you’d think. The expectations our father put on him made him grow up so fast. Despite how he acts sometimes, even being our Leader, he’s not the eldest. I know you two will become good for each other, but I just want you to know to be careful with him.”

“I will hyung,” Jungkook swore solemnly. “I’d never purposefully hurt him, it would hurt me too if I did.”

“I know,” Hobi chuckled, peering down at him with a sly look. “The pair of you are such tender hearts, you’ll probably burst into tears in the middle of an argument and forget why you were even mad in the first place.”

Jungkook wanted so badly to retort but he had nothing, because he knew it was true. He rolled his eyes at Hobi’s delighted cackle when he didn’t respond to the jab.

“Come on, that’s enough hard talk,” Hobi said, patting Jungkook’s shoulder and setting him down to stand. “Let’s go blow off some steam.”

“Where are you taking me?” Jungkook asked, letting Hobi pull him out of the office and down the long corridor of doors.

“One thing I’m going to miss about this house, after we leave, is this.” Hobi explained, throwing a random door open and flicking the light on. Jungkook blinked at the sight of a dance studio with its pale wooden floors, dark paneled walls, and a large mirror facing the doorway.

Hobi skipped over to the stereo at the far left side of the room and plugged his phone into it.

“Any requests?” He asked, scrolling through his playlists.

Jungkook hummed in thought as he came over to his hyung’s side, pulling Namjoon’s t-shirt off as he went and folding it onto a small table next to the stereo.

“I don’t want to get it all sweaty.” He explained to Hobi’s side eye, as he tightened the drawstrings on his sweatpants. “I really enjoy the choreography from my song, do you think the two of us could do it?”

Hobi laughed, “Let me call Jiminie while we warm up, the three of us can make it work.”

Jimin joined their warm up stretches as soon as he entered the room, kicking his shoes off to the side and wiggling his eyebrows at Jungkook’s bare chest. Hobi walked them through the steps with Jimin until they got their flow together.

Jimin picked up on the choreo easily and Jungkook felt the troubles of his day melt away as he focused on the movements of his body and feet. His song blasted through the room on repeat as they rehearsed the steps. He couldn’t help but sing along as they danced about the room.

After a few runs of his song, Jimin insisted that they just mess around with random music blasting through the speakers. Yoongi passed by the studio door to find them break dancing across the floor and challenging each other to do various dance moves with rap songs blasting through the room.

“You boys having fun?” He asked, after turning the music down to a reasonable level as he looked down at the panting bodies on the floor. He chuckled when he got weak thumbs up in reply, “Tae ordered some take-out for dinner, come downstairs and eat.”

That got them all off their feet instantly and scrambling down the stairs with Yoongi following slowly behind, chuckling under his breath as he turned the stereo and lights off.

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 18: Dope

Jimin met Jungkook at the door of their Political Science class, he chuckled at the sight of the motorcycle helmet underneath his arm.

“Isn’t it a bit cold to be riding this morning?” Jimin asked, following behind Jungkook as they made their way inside the classroom and walked up the steps to the back of the room. A row of girls giggled as Jungkook passed in his black leathers and wind swept hair.

“It actually wasn’t that bad this morning,” Jungkook dismissed, placing his helmet on an empty seat and sat down next to it. That was only half a lie, it was freaking cold to ride in but Namjoon’s sultry eyes on him as he left had been worth it.

Jimin eyed Jungkook’s smirk as he sat down next to him, “Namjoon-hyung left in quite a hurry last night, anything you want to tell me Kookie?”

“Nope,” Jungkook answered, pulling out his notebook and phone. There was a message from Namjoon on the screen, Jungkook opened it and smiled at the words ‘If you get any sexier, I think you might kill me’ with a burning hot emoji at the end.

‘I thought you were into knife play, guess I’ll have to table that’ Jungkook sends with a pouting face, snickering under his breath as the professor stands at her desk and calls the class to order.

‘I’m in the middle of a meeting, baby. Don’t give me ideas.’ Namjoon texts back with a prayer hands emoji.

‘I’ll take bondage off the list then,’ Jungkook sends back, ignoring Jimin’s kick to his ankle as he stares down at his phone. He glances up to see the Professor only just starting to get her slides organized on the screen, so he takes his time getting his pencils out.

‘Jungkook,’ is all Namjoon sends back in reply. Jungkook bites his lip to stop his giggles at his boyfriend’s distress.

‘Have fun in your meeting, I have class now’ Jungkook types, adding a kissy face at the end before closing his phone and tucking it into his inside jacket’s pocket.

Jungkook spent the rest of class listening to the professor drone on and on while taking his notes and trying to ignore the suggestive looks he was getting from the row of girls in front of him. There was one girl in particular, with long blonde hair, that kept trying to catch his eye.

Jungkook desperately hoped that Yoongi’s jeweler was fast, cause it seemed like he needed those couple rings just as much as Namjoon did.

The bell rang and people were out of their seats before the professor could even call out the assigned homework for the day. Jungkook stuffed his notebook into his backpack and pulled his phone out again, he had a message from both Namjoon and Yoongi.

He opened Namjoon’s first and snorted at the reply of ‘I’ll deal with you tonight’ to his last text. He sent a quick ‘Looking forward to it’ with an angel emoji before opening Yoongi-hyung’s message.

‘Your rings will be ready tomorrow and you need to give me your stage set for next week, you have performances on Tuesday night and Saturday.’ Yoongi said with his usual cat emoji at the end of his message.

Jungkook didn’t feel that he was up to a full performance of dancing and singing, but he did have a few songs that could just be sung. He sent Yoongi his two selections before moving to stand with Jimin to leave.

“Excuse me,” a sweet voice muttered just as Jungkook was standing from his chair, he looked up to see the blonde girl smiling shyly up at him. Jimin snickered behind him, the bastard, as the girl blocked their path towards the stairs.

“Can I help you?” Jungkook asks politely, picking up his motorcycle helmet from the chair and swinging his backpack onto his shoulder.

The girl giggled, “I’m Kim Soyeon.” She bows slightly with her introduction.

“Jeon Jungkook,” he replies, bowing even shallower to her. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Soyeon smiles widely to him, “I’ve seen you perform at D-Town, it was amazing! Have you always been into dancing?”

“Thank you,” Jungkook says politely, glancing at the clock on the wall. “I’m sorry, I can’t chat, I have another class to go to.”

“Oh,” Soyeon’s expression drops and she scrambles to pull out a post-it note and write her number on it. “Maybe we can meet up after one of your performances?”

“Sorry,” Jungkook says, raising his hands apologetically, not taking the offered piece of paper. He smiles gently at her fallen face, “I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate that, he’s kinda claimed all of my free evenings. Did you have an interest in performing at D-Town?”

Jungkook asks the question with innocence, as if he doesn’t know why she’s asking to meet up with him. Ignoring Jimin’s snort behind him as he stares at Soyeon’s small shake of the head before heading down the stairs to join her friends.

“It’s never a boring day with you, Jungkook-ah.” Jimin teases, sliding over to his shoulder as they watch the huddle of girls leave the room.

Jungkook sighs, glancing down at the post-it note that was dropped to the floor before stepping over it and walking down the stairs. “I hate upsetting people.”

“It’s not like you’re wearing a sign that says ‘Come try your shot with me’.” Jimin scoffs, punching Jungkook’s shoulder as they exit the classroom. “Who would you rather upset anyway? Your actual boyfriend or some girl from class?”

Jungkook elbowed Jimin’s side, “You already know the answer to that, I’d never want to upset Namjoon.”

Jimin scrunched his nose, “It’s so weird for you to be calling Leader-hyung by his name, he’s older than you!”

“He told me to!” Jungkook says defensively, then scrunches his brow in thought. “Should I start calling him hyung?”

Jimin only shrugs as he opens the door for them to enter the history lecture hall. “How much you wanna bet that Namjoon-hyung might be into that?”

Jungkook gives Jimin a hard look as they sit down, Jimin only cackles in response before the bell for class rings.

The cold air whips around his body as he speeds down the busy streets towards Namjoon’s apartment. He pulls up in front of the tall black building and cuts off the engine. Pulling off his helmet he sees one of the guards that had taken Jin up to the apartment approach him. He hands him his helmet as he swings off his bike before heading inside, saying a quick ‘thank you’ to the man as he passes.

Another guard meets him at the elevator and takes them up to Namjoon’s penthouse, Jungkook leans back against the wall of the elevator as they slowly climb. When the doors open Jungkook steps through and comes face to face with his brother.

“You have a motorcycle!” Jin burst out, waving his arms around wildly as Jungkook passed him to go into the kitchen. “Do you know how dangerous they are! And in Seoul especially!”

“No! Are they? I had no idea!” Jungkook snarked, setting his backpack down on a bar chair, pulling off his leather jacket to hang on the back of it. Unfortunately, this was not the jacket Namjoon had given him, Jungkook had no idea where that one had disappeared to since he was taken by the Stray Kids Gang. He was really bummed about it, he had started to love that jacket.

“You really need to stop being a sarcastic little shit, I’m your hyung Jungkook!” Jin barked, blocking Jungkook’s path to the refrigerator.

“Everyone in this house is my hyung, Jin-hyung” Jungkook corrects, folding his arms over his chest as he stares at his brother. “Being blood related means nothing to me at the moment.”

Jin stares at him and takes a step back, “You think you mean that now, but just you wait. This choice of yours is going to bite you in the ass one day and I don’t want to be around to see it.”

“It’s already bitten me in the ass,” Jungkook glares, side stepping Jin and grabbing a banana milk from the fridge. “I’ve already been kidnapped and held hostage for leverage. And then I had to chase after your sorry ass, so really it’s bitten me twice.”

“You’ve been what?!” Jin yelped, he stared at Jungkook sipping on his banana milk, his face growing red with agitation. “When the fuck were you kidnapped!?”

“Just before we had to go looking for you,” Jungkook answered with a shrug, sipping through the little straw as he looked at his brother. “I think we need to sit down and talk about this, instead of just yelling at each other.”

Jin huffed as he followed Jungkook into the dining room and sat down across from him at the table, he crossed his arms over his chest as they stared at each other for a moment. The only sounds in the room was the slurping of Jungkook’s banana milk carton, he set it down on the table after finishing it.

“Alright hyung, I want you to give me all the reasons why you think I’m being stupid for trusting my hyungs, who I’ve known for years, and my boyfriend, who has done nothing to hurt me.” Jungkook says, waving for Jin to go ahead.

Jin scoffed, “He hasn’t hurt you yet, you mean. He will one day, I guarantee it.”

“How do you think he’s going to hurt me?” Jungkook asked seriously, if he was going to have to listen to his brother’s rant he might as well try to take him seriously.

“Namjoon has a lot of enemies, Jungkook. Obviously you know that, since you’ve already been taken by one. Considering they didn’t hurt you too badly, they probably weren’t any of his big enemies, so you got lucky. You might not next time.” Jin began, glancing over at the healing rope burns on Jungkook’s wrists. Luckily the bruise on his cheek was basically gone now.

“I don’t need to hear about all the outside forces I’ll be up against, hyung.” Jungkook cut in resting his arms on the table, not at all bothered by his brother’s eyes on his marked skin. “I want to hear your reasons about Namjoon and my hyungs, not their enemies.”

“How can you be so dismissive of it? Some of these people won’t be…” Jin started to say but Jungkook held up a hand.

“You’re focusing on the wrong things, Jin-hyung. I’m not going to continue this conversation if you won’t put that aside.” Jungkook said with a sigh. “But I’ll tell you why I’m not worried about any of Namjoon’s enemies, no matter how big they are. It’s because the next time they come after me, I won’t be helpless against them. I won’t be ignorant about the risks of being on the streets alone. And one day, I’ll be just as much of a threat to them as Namjoon is.”

“Why would you want that Jungkook-ah?” Jin asked lowly, his shoulders deflating in defeat. “Why would you want to become a part of a company that kills people? That tortures them for information, that puts drugs on the streets, and controls whether the city will eat or not. Namjoon could get bored one day and burn Seoul to the ground and build his own city in its place. Are you really going to be by his side standing on the ashes of millions of bodies?”

Jungkook leaned back in his chair and tapped his finger against the wooden table as he thought over his brother’s words.

“Does that put it into perspective for you, little brother?” Jin asks, leaning forward to catch Jungkook’s eye.

Jungkook raises his eyes to his brother, “Yes, it does.”

Jin started to smile but froze when Jungkook continued to speak.

“It may seem cold to you, but I genuinely could care less for the people of Seoul. When I was on the streets for three weeks, no one looked twice at me or stopped to help.” Jungkook said coldly, standing to his feet as he looked at his brother. “You weren’t home when mom kicked me out. You never seemed to be home after getting back from killing dad’s murderer, you jumped to the conclusion that I had ran away. I didn’t! I came back for two weeks while you were gone and waited for you to come back! But you didn’t! No one helped me until I came to Yoongi-hyung’s door. I’m going to stick with them hyung, they’re the only ones that have given a damn about me since they met me!”

Jungkook left his brother in the dining room and headed up the stairs to Namjoon’s bedroom. He opened the door a bit surprised to see the man lounging on the bed, Namjoon looked up and blinked as Jungkook shut the door behind him.

“Hey baby, how was…” Namjoon grunted as Jungkook flung himself on top of Namjoon, sending them tumbling down onto the mattress.

Jungkook wrapped his arms around Namjoon’s neck and settled his legs on either side of his waist. “I’m abandoning my brother, he doesn’t listen to me.”

Namjoon hummed as he wrapped his arms around Jungkook’s shoulders, “You have another hard talk with your hyung?”

“Not my hyung anymore,” Jungkook grumbled against Namjoon’s neck. “Just an idiot that my mother gave birth to.”

Namjoon chuckled and ran a hand through Jungkook’s hair, “Have you had dinner yet, baby?”

“Does banana milk count?” Jungkook asked, lifting his head to look at Namjoon and place a kiss onto his cheek.

“No baby, it doesn’t.” Namjoon replied, placing a kiss on Jungkook’s lips. “What do you want to eat?”

Jungkook hummed in thought, “Grilled Pork Belly sounds just about right, right now.”

“Then that’s what my baby will get,” Namjoon said, placing another kiss on Jungkook’s giggling lips as he moved them off the bed to order some food into their room.

??????? (for @jung-koook ♡)

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 12: Just One Day

Namjoon insisted that Jungkook go to class when they woke up the next day, he ignored all of Jungkook’s protest as he shooed him out the door.

“Namjoon!” Jungkook whined as the man slipped his backpack over his shoulders. “It’s literally Friday, I only have one class today. You cannot tell me that it's necessary that I go just for one class. And it’s BioChem of all things!”

“Which makes it all the more necessary,” Namjoon countered, zipping up Jungkook’s jacket and gently guiding him out the door. Ignoring Jungkook’s protest of ‘but I’m a Visual Arts major, what do I need biology for?’ as he spoke, “You already missed two days of classes, you should at least attend today. I know that you want to stay and speak with Seokjin, but it can wait. The man hasn’t even woken up from last night, so there’s no point in you waiting here.”

Jungkook grumbled under his breath as Namjoon ushered him over to the SUV waiting for him, opened the door, and almost lifted him into the car when Jungkook just stood in front of it with his arms crossed.

“Sweetheart,” Namjoon murmured gently, as he buckled him into his seat. Jungkook refused to look at him, his arms still crossed and a pout on his lips. “Your pouting is adorable but please don’t be mad at me about this. Of all the things, making you go to class is not the worst thing that’s happened.”

“You clearly have not done BioChem with Professor Chan,” Jungkook said fiercely, looking at Namjoon angrily despite the amused smile on the man’s face. “He has it out for me, I’m telling you! He always calls on me during class! It makes him look smarter than he is! Do you know the process of cellulose development in natural forest crops? He asked that in the middle of a lecture about glycogen!”

“You seem to be pretty knowledgeable in a class you hate,” Namjoon observed slyly.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes at him, “It’s not the information that I have an issue with, it's being called on in the middle of class and asked to answer in front of everyone! I sit in the back to avoid that!”

“Ah I see,” Namjoon nodded, placing a kiss on his cheek. “It’ll be good for you then, I’ll have the car wait for you until you’re done.”

“Namj…” Jungkook started to protest, only for his boyfriend to swiftly back away and close the car door before he could start his next wave of protests. He huffed as the car began to roll down the driveway, watching through the tinted window as Namjoon made his way back inside the house. His phone buzzed inside his pocket, he pulled it out and saw a text from Namjoon saying ‘Don’t pout baby, it’s only for a couple of hours.’

“Easy for him to say,” Jungkook muttered at the screen, sending him a stream of angry emojis in response. He got a blushing face and kissy wink face emoji in response, it made him giggle in spite of his irritation. He spent the rest of the drive texting back and forth with Namjoon until they pulled up to the campus. By that time Jungkook was sending hearts and kissy faces back to his boyfriend instead of angry ones.

He sent a quick message to Namjoon, once he was seated at the back of the class, letting him know he had arrived safely and would now be focusing on the awful lecture. He blushed at the ‘good boy’ text he received in response before he tucked his phone into his pocket.

Professor Chan stood at the head of the class and began taking roll as soon as the bell stopped ringing. He was one of the only professors that was notorious for always taking roll at the start of class and would mark anyone as tardy that showed up late. He rolled right into the lecture as soon as he placed his clipboard on his desk. His no-nonsense tone kept everyone from messing around even in the very back of the lecture hall.

Jungkook focused on writing his notes, checking the board every now and then to write any key points, nibbling on his pencil eraser as he listened. He tried to mentally prepare himself to be called on, it happened every single lecture but it somehow always managed to catch him off guard.

“Jeon-ssi,” Professor Chan called through the room, his gaze meeting Jungkook’s as he raised his head at the sound of his name. “What would the ionic bonds between the elements of Na positive and Cl negative be called?”

Jungkook held back a sigh of relief, this was something he could answer for once. “It’s Electrostatic, Professor Chan-ssi, a non-covalent interaction between elemental bonds.”

Professor Chan hummed and nodded then continued on with his lecture, as if he hadn’t stopped to ask Jungkook at all. Jungkook returned to his notes, trying to keep his breath of relief to himself. The professor did not seem happy at all that he was able to answer his question so easily. He just tried to focus on his notes until it was over, ignoring the hard stares the professor seemed to give him.

The bell rang to end class, but everyone waited until Professor Chan dismissed them before packing their bags.

“Jeon-ssi, please stay behind for a moment.” He called, as Jungkook was making his way down the steps towards the door. Jungkook blinked but stepped down to stand in front of the man’s desk.

Professor Chan waited until the whole room emptied before speaking, “Jeon-ssi, how long do you think I’ve been a professor here at this university?”

Jungkook blinked in confusion, “I’m sorry sir, I don’t know.”

“Twenty years,” he answered, nodding at Jungkook’s quiet praise at such a long career. “And in those twenty years I have learned to scope out the troublemakers in my class rooms. And do you know who that is in this class?”

“No, sir.” Jungkook answered, but was already dreading the answer to come.

“That would be you, Jeon Jungkook.” Professor Chan said slowly, standing from his chair and coming uncomfortably close to Jungkook as he spoke. “I won’t bother to explain why, boys like you will never understand what’s being told to them. You are assigned my extra tutoring sessions on Monday afternoon, 2PM on the dot. I expect you to be there next week, you may leave.”

“Thank you sir,” Jungkook murmured, bowing as shallowly as he dared before quickly walking out of the room. The feeling of his professor’s cold eyes following his exit sent a shiver down his spine.

The uneasy feeling stayed with him as he hopped into the SUV and throughout the return trip to Namjoon’s house. He couldn’t quite shake it even as he entered the house and made his way up to Namjoon’s private office. He didn’t even bother to knock on the door this time, unaware of the conversations dying inside the room as his gaze zeroed in on Namjoon.

He thought he heard the vague mumblings of his name and someone saying ‘give him a minute, I think he’s zoned out’. And ‘it always freaks me out when he does this’ from someone else, but he wasn’t sure.

All he knew was that he needed to be in Namjoon’s arms, he crossed the room with sure steps and straddled the man’s lap. Namjoon’s arms came around him automatically, soothing circles running over his back and tight grip on his waist.

Jungkook buried his head into Namjoon’s neck and breathed in his earthy cologne and the scent that was simply Namjoon. He pressed his hands under Namjoon’s suit jacket to cup the back of his shoulder blades through the fabric of his suit shirt.

“Why do you always wear such nice suits?” Jungkook murmured against his collarbone that peeked out from his open shirt collar.

“What would you rather I wear?” Namjoon asked, leaning his head down to Jungkook’s ear. “I can’t exactly walk around in sweatpants all the time.”

“Don’t you own a pair of jeans?” Jungkook asked incredulously, leaning back to look at Namjoon properly. The weariness from class finally leaving him in the arms of his boyfriend.

“Did something happen during class, baby? You seemed upset when you came in, you didn’t even knock this time.” Namjoon asked with a chuckle, amused rather than angry at Jungkook barging into his office.

Jungkook shrugged, “My professor was just being an ass as usual, but he was on another level today. Said some really creepy shit and gave me extra tutoring. I have an A in that class, I don’t understand what he’s trying to do.”

“Give me his name,” Namjoon smiled serenely at Jungkook's narrowed eyes. “Just to look him up, nothing bad I promise, just want to check that he doesn’t have anything to hide or a reason to lure you somewhere.”

“Fair enough,” Jungkook nodded, laughing at the look of surprise on Namjoon’s face at his easy reply. “I only found out recently that my entire friend group and family are a part of the asian mafia. I’m going to be a little more cautious about those around me now.”

Namjoon nodded in approval absentmindedly running his hands up and down Jungkook's thighs on either side of his hips. Jungkook rested his hands on the sides of Namjoon’s neck, playing the ends of his dark hair.

“His name is Professor Chan Hwan, please don’t mess with him too badly, I still need to keep a good grade in that class.” Jungkook teased, running his fingers over the small hoops in Namjoon’s ear lobes. Namjoon chuckled and opened his mouth to respond only to be interrupted by a mock whisper behind them.

“Do you think they’ve even noticed us in the room?” Jimin muttered, not even trying to really lower his voice.

“Hush, let them have a moment. They’re so cute.” Taehyung, actually whispering, muttered back, probably poking Jimin’s side in protest to his interruption.

Jungkook glanced over his shoulder to see all of his hyungs sitting around in the various chairs in Namjoon’s office watching them with amused faces. He spied the coffee table covered in pieces of paper, maps, and pencils. He looked back at Namjoon sheepishly.

“I walked in on a meeting, didn’t I?” Wincing when Namjoon nods solemnly in reply. “Sorry, I didn’t notice.”

“I know you didn’t,” Namjoon acknowledged with a gentle smile. “Fortunately for you, I rarely use this room for anything other than my meetings with my Inner Circle. So, you never have to be worried about who you are barging in on. The same cannot be said for the other offices, so you need to be mindful of that.”

Jungkook nodded and muttered a quiet ‘sorry’ again, but Namjoon shook his head. “I’m not scolding you Jungkook-ah, I never want you to be scared of coming to me when you need me.”

“Yeah,” Jimin piped in. “You could probably burst into a meeting with our most feared rival, asking Leader-hyung where the banana milk is and he’d probably just simper at you.”

Jimin yelps as Hobi smacks the back of his head, but there are nods of agreement around the room to what he says. Jungkook smacks Namjoon’s chest when the man also nods in agreement, he mutters a quiet ‘ow’ as he rubs the spot and gives Jungkook puppy dog eyes.

“You shouldn’t just let me do something like that,” he scolds, shaking his finger under Namjoon’s nose. “I don’t want to end up doing something that could end up hurting you in some way!”

A hand pats the top of Jungkook’s head, he leans into it as he hears, “There, there little cub, you’ll be fine.” From Taehyung who then loops his arms around Jungkook’s shoulders, unbothered by the fact that he was still in Namjoon’s lap. “Your hyungs will take good care of you now.”

“Tae, you’re starting to squish me, get off!” Jungkook grumbled, elbowing him in the ribs but it was unsuccessful. Taehyung’s grip just gets tighter across his chest as he buries his nose into the top of Jungkook’s head, humming happily. Jungkook sighs in resignation and huffs at Namjoon’s amused face as the man leans back to observe the pair. “You’re not gonna help me? Your poor, defenseless boyfriend from the clutches of the evil TaeTae.”

Namjoon chuckled, “Sorry baby, you’re on your own. I’d never get between the Tiger of Seoul and his prey.”

Taehyung hummed happily, rocking back and forth slightly with Jungkook in his arms. Jungkook grumbles at the manhandling and tries to wriggle out of Taehyung’s grip unsuccessfully.

“Yoongi-hyung! Get your husband!” Jungkook growls as Taehyung starts to try and drag him off of Namjoon’s lap, unfortunately because Jungkook wrapped his legs around Namjoon’s waist, he ends up dragging the entire chair across the floor.

“He don’t bite.” Yoongi deadpanned, playing along with the little game. More than used to Taehyung and Jungkook’s teasing way of showing affection to each other; Taehyung giving it willingly and Jungkook pretending to protest it.

“Yes, he do!” Jungkook shouts back making everyone cackle as Taehyung obliges the allegation and bites down on Jungkook’s shoulder playfully. Jungkook yelps in surprise as Taehyung’s teeth dig into his skin through the fabric of his t-shirt.

“If you make a hole in my favorite shirt, I’m going to get out of my boyfriend’s lap and pommel you.” Jungkook threatens, side eyeing the older man on his shoulder. Taehyung simply continues to naw on the meat of his shoulder with happy sounds.

“Does this happen often?” Hobi whispered across the room to Yoongi in concern.

“Yes.” Came the responding answer from around the room with tones of absolute fondness.

“So, what super secret meeting did I barge in on or am I not allowed to know?” Jungkook asked, turning his gaze back to Namjoon, deciding that ignoring Taehyung would be the best way to get him to go away.

Namjoon gazed at him in amusement, “We were just discussing the plans concerning your brother. As much as I’d like to leave him here under lock and key, he knows this house too well. He’s escaped it multiple times before, plus it’s not the prime location for our business needs at the moment. We’re looking through some of our other properties in the city to see which would work better for our current needs.”

“Ah,” Jungkook hummed, trying to ignore the wet patch that was growing on his shoulder. “How many houses do you guys have?”

Namjoon hummed in thought and tapped his chin, “Five, if we’re not including the apartments but if we are then ten, excluding the family house. Company business is forbidden there, by order of my mother.”

“Are those only your business homes then? You don’t have any personal homes.” Jungkook asked, scrunching his brow.

Namjoon smiled serenely at him, “Everyone of those houses and apartments are my home, whether it’s for business or personal use. My mother just likes to have peace in her house since my father retired, talking business with him usually leads to an argument between us.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Do you have a favorite house?” Jungkook inquired, wincing slightly as Taehyung’s teeth dug a little deeper into his shoulder for a moment.

“I do,” Namjoon nodded, leaning forward to flick Taehyung hard on the forehead making him yelp and finally release his bite on Jungkook’s shoulder. He places a hand on the wet patch of Jungkook's shirt, pulling it down slightly to see the damage caused by Taehyung’s teeth. He clicks his tongue at the teeth shaped indents before tucking his shirt back over his shoulder. “The apartment that I find myself always drawn to is a few blocks away from D-Town.”

Jungkook rubbed his shoulder, rolling the soreness out of his arm as he spoke, “Then why don’t you stay there then? Does it meet all the requirements you need in a base at the moment?”

Namjoon nodded, “It’s actually the best one for what we need.”

“Then why don’t you…”

Namjoon sighed and fixed a look on Jungkook, making him blink in confusion at the man’s sudden frustration. “Could you guys give us a moment please.”

He spoke the question gently, but there was an undertone of a command in it, the room emptied immediately. Taehyung waved as the door closed gently behind them, his forehead still bearing a small red mark from Namjoon’s flick.

Once the sounds of footsteps passed from outside the room, Namjoon lifted Jungkook off his lap and placed him on the couch then returned to his chair. The distance between them confuses the hell out of Jungkook, he crosses his arms and waits for Namjoon to explain himself.

Namjoon rubs the back of his neck, his face is tenser than Jungkook has ever seen. His jaw clenches as he tries to find the right words. “I’m worried, Jungkook. I’m worried that I’ve intruded into your life too much already. We already agreed that you would be moving into Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung’s spare apartment and if I move to live literally a block away, I feel like…”

“I didn’t agree to move fucking anywhere.” Jungkook interrupts angrily. “You made a suggestion and then I fell asleep before we came to any sort of conclusion. Even if I did agree to move there, you living a block away from me wouldn’t be ‘intruding on my life’ as you say. You’re my fucking boyfriend Kim Namjoon, intruding on my life is kinda your job at this point!”

“We aren’t doing any of this in the right order, Jungkook!” Namjoon says gruffly, clenching his fists in his lap. “We’ve been on three official dates and now we’re talking about…”

“Hold on, I’m sorry,” Jungkook huffed, holding a hand out to stop Namjoon. “Since when are you the expert in how relationships work?”

Namjoon’s eyes narrow dangerously at Jungkook’s words but he presses on with a matched angry look at the man.

“I don’t know what fucking book you’re pulling this out of, but you can’t base how everyone else’s relationship works to how ours will.” Jungkook growls, clenching his fists under his arms. “We didn’t exactly meet under the most normal circumstances, so how exactly are you expecting the rest of our relationship to go?”

Namjoon huffs and drags a hand through his hair, “I’m not basing this off of anyone else!”

“Then where is this obsession with doing things in the ‘right’ way coming from?” Jungkook huffed, then paused as he took in Namjoon’s tense posture. It suddenly occurs to him that Namjoon wasn’t angry, he was scared. He takes a deep breath to calm the bubbling anger under his skin.

Jungkook moves from his seat to kneel in front of Namjoon’s chair, he cautiously places his hands over top of Namjoon's clenched fists. “Please just talk to me Namjoon, don’t try and make me angry at you over something trivial. Don’t try and push me away because you’re scared.”

Namjoon’s hands shake underneath Jungkook’s, even as he shifts them to rest their palms together. He let out a shuddering breath, “I… I’m sorry Jungkook… I… I don’t know why I did that, I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m fucking terrified. I’ve never felt like this for anyone. You’ve become a fixture in my life in such a short period of time that it almost feels like a dream. I’m so scared of waking up one day and finding it all to be a lie, or a ploy, or a delayed response. Normal people don’t react the way you do.”

“Well, tough shit cause I’m not normal Namjoon.” Jungkook scoffs, he holds his hand to stop Namjoon’s protests. “No, it's my turn now, so shut up and listen to me.” He straddled Namjoon’s lap, pulling his shirt off in one fluid motion, tossing it across the room. Namjoon’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of his bare chest, his tattooed arm, and the faded scars that run from his ribs down to his belly button.

Namjoon raises a shaky hand and hovers over a long scar that cuts across the entirety of Jungkook's left rib cage. Jungkook moves his hand to touch him, shivering at the warmth of it against his chilled skin.

“You can touch me,” he whispers reassuringly to Namjoon, running his hands soothingly over Namjoon’s forearms as his gaze roams over Jungkook’s scared chest.

“Who did this to you?” Namjoon whispers, raising his gaze to Jungkook’s, his eyes burning with a quiet anger.

Jungkook took a shaky breath, “Growing up without my father was tough. I was always teased at school, always the target for the worst bullying. To add to that, my brother was always angry and my mother was constantly in tears. They were mourning a man I never knew and in the process ignored the pain I was going through. I lashed out, I got into fights everyday. Some I won, some that led to these,” he indicated to a few of his smaller scars with a wave of his hand.

“As I got older, the fights got uglier. Scraps and little scars turned to cigarette burns and jagged knife cuts. There was a gang in the school that particularly liked to mess with me, their leader gave me the long one on my ribs. I was taken to the hospital. Jin-hyung came to get me, apparently being called for his little brother needing over a hundred stitches was enough to wake him up.”

Jungkook scoffed quietly at the memory of that day, his hyung storming into the hospital room screaming at Jungkook for worrying their mother. Jungkook standing on his hospital bed shouting back and exposing all of the scars he had to him. The ashen look that had colored his brother’s face at the sight of his mangled teenage body would haunt Jungkook for the rest of his life and cut him deeper than any of the wounds.

“Things were better after that,” Jungkook continued, shaking himself from the memory. “My mother had me moved to another school in Seoul, she didn’t trust any of the ones in Busan anymore. She had Jin-hyung drive me every single day and made him check me over to make sure no new scars appeared. Things weren’t perfect but I had my mother back, I had my brother. They were finally taking the time to look past their own pain to just see me.”

Namjoon caught some of the tears that started to fall from Jungkook’s eyes as he took a deep breath at the sudden onslaught of emotions. He sniffed and pushed through the tears to continue what he needed to say to Namjoon.

“I’m showing you these because I’m not as innocent as you think I am, I am not delicate and I’m not fragile.” Jungkook huffed, rolling his eyes. “I may not have been through the same shit as you have but I’ve been through some shit. I found out my father was possibly a part of a huge gang when I was sixteen years old, because he left me a journal in his will. My brother used to drag me out of bed late at night after school to teach me self defense moves. He’d push me until I could pin him to the ground and nearly choke him out.”

“I tell you all this because there is nothing that you can do to make me think we’re moving too fast. Or doing things the wrong way, or acting not ‘normal’ because we’re not. Neither of us are normal Namjoon,” he whispered softly, gazing into the man’s eyes as he cupped his face in his hands. “The most normal I’ve ever felt has been with you. You are the cleanest breath of fresh air I’ve ever had, you make me feel safe, you make me feel free. I don’t need to guard my emotions under lock and key with you. When I’m with you I’m not scared of anything.”

There was a four letter word on the tip of Jungkook’s tongue, and as hypocritical as it was, he thought it was too soon to say it just yet.

Namjoon’s posture froze for a moment then sagged in relief, Jungkook blinked as the man leaned back in his chair and tilted his head up to the ceiling, his hands resting on Jungkook’s hips. Jungkook crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at his boyfriend.

“You’re starting to make me think that you had a previous partner that brought up all these issues. Is that what this is? You moved too fast and scared someone off and now you think you’ll do the same to me?” Jungkook asked, narrowing his eyes at Namjoon’s limp body.

Namjoon shook his head, running a hand down his face. “No, that’s not why I did that. Jimin made this off hand comment just before you came into the room and it kind of shook me a bit.”

Jungkook blinked then started to move off Namjoon’s lap, “That’s it, I’m gonna kill him! Jimin-ssi!”

Namjoon barely has time to try and stop Jungkook’s storm of movement out of the office. He scrambles to follow Jungkook down the stairs to where the rest of the group was waiting for them. Jimin turns at the call of his name and yelps at the sight of Jungkook charging at him, throwing his chair to the ground as he tries to run away.

“Come back here you little shit!” Jungkook huffs, leaping over the dining room table that Jimin ran around to escape him.

“What did I do!” Jimin screams, tossing a chair at Jungkook before bolting in another direction. Jungkook caught the chair with ease, placed it back next to the table, and pursued Jimin into the living room.

“What the fuck did you say to my boyfriend!” Jungkook shouts, diving over the couch and catching Jimin into his arms before rolling both of them onto the floor. Jimin screams in shock at being pinned to the floor. He kicks and punches wildly at Jungkook’s body only to be flipped over onto his stomach, his arms pinned behind his back and his legs crushed under the weight of Jungkook’s body.

“How the hell are you so heavy?” Jimin groans into the hardwood floor. Wiggling around to try and get free but with no success, Jungkook leans down to whisper in his ear.

“Tell me what you said to Namjoon before I got home and maybe I’ll consider letting you go.” He threatens, tightening his grip on the older man’s wrists in his fists.

“OW! OW! Okay! Okay! I told him that the last boyfriend you moved in with, you ended up breaking up after a week! I was just saying that you guys needed to slow down.” Jimin huffs then yelps when Jungkook smacks the back of his head.

“That’s because Mingyu was cheating on me, you asshole! And he was an absolute slob!” Jungkook raged, smacking Jimin’s head emphasis. “Why would you bring that up when you didn’t know all the facts!”

Jimin mumbles something under his breath making Jungkook grip his hair and yank his head back, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that. Could you repeat what you just said?” He growls against the side of Jimin’s face.

“I said,” Jimin spat, gritting his teeth. “Stop being such an insecure little bitch and fight me for real!”

Jungkook scoffed and opened his mouth to retort only to be yanked off of Jimin’s body.

“YAH! Let me at him! I wasn’t finished!” He yells, as Namjoon’s strong arms come around his waist. Hobi yanks Jimin from the floor and pulls him away as Jimin fights to get at Jungkook as well. The pair glare at each other as they are held back, Jungkook tries to wriggle out of Namjoon’s tight grip as Jimin is slowly backed away out of the room by Hobi.

“Baby, calm down,” Namjoon tries to soothe, dodging a kick from Jungkook’s legs. “You’re gonna end up putting half my crew in the hospital if you don’t calm down.”

Jungkook ignores him as he continues to try and escape his boyfriend’s hold.

“Are you sure it's a good idea to let the boy be trained, Namjoon?” Yoongi asks, peaking into view as Namjoon wrangled Jungkook into a full body pin onto the floor. “He’s taken out two members of our elite crew without any training already, he’ll be unstoppable within a week under Hobi’s hand.”

Namjoon sighs in relief when Jungkook finally lets himself lay limp underneath him, “Didn’t you say something about ‘stepping on toes’ just yesterday hyung.”

Yoongi scoffed, “Who cares about toes being stepped on, Jungkook will just put them in a coma if they tried anything. Yah Jungkook-ah, that’s enough fighting now. Get up and apologize to your hyung. He didn’t mean anything by the comment. Even if it wasn’t his place to say, chasing him around the house doesn’t solve anything.”

Jungkook deflates even further into the hardwood flooring, he turns his head to look at Yoongi’s stern face. He pouts and nods, mumbling a quiet ‘I’m sorry hyungie’.

Yoongi nodded in understanding, patting Namjoon’s back to get him to stand, giving Jungkook a hand and tapping his chin as his head hung in shame. “Yah, hyung’s not mad Kookie, just go say sorry to Jiminie.”

He huffs as Jungkook hugs him tight around the chest and buries his head into his shoulder, but places a kiss on his hairline before shooing him out of the room to find Jimin.

Yoongi sighs fondly as he watches the boy wander off towards the kitchen before turning his gaze to his gaping leader.

“How did you do that?” Namjoon asks in awe, watching Jungkook’s back slowly retreat from view then looks down at his Second.

Yoongi shrugs, “I’ve known the boy since he was seventeen years old, I know how to deal with his moods. Taehyungie basically adopted him as soon as he saw him.”

Namjoon blinked as Yoongi gestured for him to sit in the living room with him.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen him run around the house shirtless in a while. He showed you his scars,” Yoongi observed, waiting for Namjoon’s nod before sighing sadly. “It took a year before Taehyung and I were trusted enough for him to tell us. That ex-boyfriend of his, Mingyu, really messed him up for a while. He mocked Jungkook’s scars, calling him weak for getting bullied to that point.” He held up a hand to stop Namjoon’s incoming rant. “Don’t bother looking for him, you won’t. Tae took care of him the night Jungkook came to our house in tears.”

Namjoon nodded in satisfaction, “How did Seokjin not know that Jungkook was in contact with you guys all these years?”

Yoongi scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Seokjin may love his brother but he honestly doesn’t give a damn about his life. They barely speak to each other, apart from a few text messages throughout the week but he never calls or visits. That’s half the reason why we didn’t know it was our Seokjin that was his brother. If he hadn’t pulled that stunt in Morocco he probably wouldn’t have even known about you and Jungkook until he got a wedding invitation.”

Namjoon frowned at this revelation, “Has he been alone all this time? Until you came into his life, has he just been alone?”

Yoongi nodded sadly, “I believe so, he came to Seoul with nothing. The day he walked into D-Town looking for a job, I wasn’t even going to hire him but then I learned that he had nowhere to stay, no job, barely any money, and just his backpack full of clothes. I hired him on the spot and haven’t looked back since.”

“Why didn’t you ever try and bring him into the crew?” Namjoon asked cautiously, scrunching his brows. “He seems exactly the type we’d usually take in off the streets.”

Yoongi for once looked sheepish, “Normally I would have, hell even Taehyung suggested it time and time again over the years but I’ll admit that I’m a bit overprotective of him. I didn’t want him to get hurt more than he already has. I wasn’t exactly hiding him from this life but I didn’t expose him to it either. If he stumbled upon something I would have been honest with him, but I wanted him to have some peace, even if it was for a little while.”

Namjoon hummed in understanding, “I guess we’re both trying to keep him safe from this life.”

“You said once that if he chooses it, you’d respect his choice. Even if he hasn’t verbally told you yet, I think it's safe to say that he has.” Yoongi smiled at the sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen. “Sounds like the boys made up, let's go make sure they don’t break our kitchen before we leave this place.”

“Ah hyung,” Yoongi pauses mid-turn to look back at Namjoon’s cautious face. “Should I be worried about Jungkook’s outburst at Jimin just now?”

Yoongi chuckled, “I forget that you haven’t been around these boys as long as I have. Let’s just say that little tackle in the living room was the tamest of their fights, but you don’t have to worry about them ever really hurting each other.”

Namjoon blinked in shock, unable to imagine how bad their ‘fights’ could get after what he just saw.

“Just ask Taehyung about the dumpling incident, that’ll put everything into perspective for you.” Yoongi said with a chuckle, waving for Namjoon to follow him to the kitchen.

Namjoon chuckled nervously and followed his hyung into the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway to take in the sight of Jungkook happily helping Taehyung by the stove while Jimin and Hobi sat on bar stools behind them adding commentary to their cooking. Yoongi stepped forward, trying to take over from the two cooks, but Namjoon hung back and simply watched for a moment.

He watched Jungkook’s bunny smile grow as his two hyungs insisted that he try a taste of the food for approval. He laughed under his breath at the angry scowl that appeared on Jungkook’s face but moaned its praise with a declaration of how good it was. He watched as Jimin pouted for a bite of the food and opened his mouth eagerly when Jungkook offered him a spoon full.

Hoseok stepped away for a moment and joined Namjoon in the doorway, “The house feels more complete now, doesn’t it?” He commented, nodding to the four around the stove.

“Still missing one, I think.” Namjoon mused with a smile, Hoseok sighed next to him and nodded.

“I hope Jin will make an effort for his brother, I don’t think he realizes how much Jungkook needs him. Even with us in his life, he still needs his big brother.” Hoseok murmured with a gentle shake of his head.

Namjoon hummed, “He’ll figure it out, it’s just going to take time. I think Jungkook’s presence is going to change a lot of things around here.”

“He already has,” Hoseok says with a smile. “He’s made you happier than I’ve seen in years.”

“I hope I can do the same for him,” Namjoon sighed, his eyes trained on Jungkook giggling as Taehyung scolds him for still being shirtless around the hot oil.

Hoseok pats his shoulder, “I wouldn’t think too hard about it Joonie, just enjoy every moment and live in the now.”

Namjoon nodded and clapped his hand onto Hoseok’s shoulder, they smiled at each other, then stepped into the kitchen and joined the rest of their friends. Namjoon slid behind Jungkook, smiling down at him when he turned to him, his eyes sparkling with galaxies as he gazed up at Namjoon and his smile wide on his face. Namjoon placed a kiss against his forehead, ignoring the hoots and hollers around them, sliding his hand across Jungkook’s bare waist as he brought him closer.

Jungkook settled against Namjoon’s chest in contentment, sighing happily as Namjoon tightened his grip around him. The chatter and cooking around them fading as they simply held each other for a moment.

Writing a fic when you're uninspired:

*writes half a sentence* *checks tumblr; no updates* *checks discord; all servers; no updates* *goes back to doc* *re-reads last three sentences* *removes last half sentence written* Hmm I want some tea ... *makes tea* *checks tumblr again; one new post* *checks discord; all servers; no updates* *checks four latest opened tabs* *remembers an old fandom you haven't thought of in years; goes to AO3 to see if there are any good fics for it* *opens three new fic tabs* *remembers that you're supposed to be writing* *writes a sentence* I'm kinda hungry ... *checks cupboards and fridge for snacks* *remembers that it's ten pm and you shouldn't snack at this hour* *remembers that you made tea; it is now cold* *drinks cold tea* *re-reads last three sentences* *checks tumblr; no updates* *checks discord; all servers; no updates* *in desperation, checks twitter; it is a cesspool of evil so you check tumblr again; one update* *reblog* Hmm, I have too many tabs open ... *opens a random tab; it is a 70K fic with 1K worth of tags that you last visited three months ago* *reads fic* Four hours later: ... I should go to bed. *closes doc* Total words written: 44