why me?

XIX

Jungkook panted as they finished up the song, his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat. Around him, the others let themselves flop to the floor in exhaustion, all groaning or whining.

"Jeez, it's been 5 hours! Can we please go home?", Namjoon pouted as he sat up, though a glare from Hoseok made him get up.

"We need to practice for tomorrow, we can't mess up", the dancer said, a big smile on his face. "Let's run through it again!"

Jungkook smiled to himself as the music started again, his body moving on its own. Tomorrow would be his first concert after the other members found out about his little space. He had taken a break from group activities for a while, though he still joined the vlives and recorded run episodes for their fans.

The youngest was excited to perform again. He missed the rush of adrenaline through his blood, hearing the screams from so many fans that came just to see them. It felt amazing, even though afterward he would be exhausted.

Practice went fine after that, though they had to take a few breaks when Taehyung accidentally slipped. Jungkook looked at the boy playing with his sweater paws, worry rising. What if he would accidentally slip tomorrow? Taehyung was better at hiding it than he was, and even he sometimes slipped without meaning to.

Seokjin looked over, noticing the worried frown on the boy's face. he walked towards him and wrapped one arm around Jungkook. "What's bothering you bun?"

Jungkook tensed for a moment, hesitating whether or not he should tell him. He looked up at the eldest, being met with a warm smile.

Jungkook clenched his fist. He knew he could trust the others by now, they made sure to be very careful with their words and actions around them. It wouldn't hurt to tell his hyung what he was worried about.

"I'm... kind of scared that I'll accidentally slip tomorrow, and ruin the concert", Jungkook admitted sheepishly.

Seokjin cooed softly and hugged the boy. "I'm sure you'll do great Jungkookie! You've been practicing so hard, and your vocals have improved even more as well!" he chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"And don't worry about slipping bun, hyung will help you if that happens. Can you trust hyung for me?"

Jungkook looked down for a second, playing with his hands before he nodded.

"Thank you hyung", he said and hugged Seokjin again, holding onto him and snuggling closer. Seokjin smiled and wrapped his arms around the boy, kissing the top of his hair. "Good boy, it's all going to be okay."

Jungkook nodded to himself. "S all gonna be okay..."

—

That night was filled with tossing and turning, small groans filling the room every time Jungkook moved around on the bed. The poor boy stared at the wall next to his bed, his mind nowhere near ready to go to bed. The same thoughts kept circulating through his head, going from being excited to again worrying about slipping.

The boy flipped onto his back and held his hands up in front of his eyes, wiggling his fingers as his eyes tried to adjust to the dark. Jungkook sighed softly, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon if he kept turning. He slowly sat up, looking around the room to find Bunbun.

Jungkook slowly got up, grabbing the comfort item from his desk and making his way towards the door. He winced quietly as the door squeaked while he opened it. Looking into the hallway, Jungkook hoped no one heard him as he tiptoed to Yoongi's room as quietly as possible.

He let out a sigh of relief as he closed Yoongi's door behind him, before shuffling towards the bed. After a moment of hesitation, Jungkook gently shook Yoongi's arm.

Yoongi groaned and buried his face into his pillow as Jungkook tried to wake him up. "Yoongi hyung? Can I... sleep with you tonight?"

Jungkook nervously waited for an answer, biting his bottom lip softly. Yoongi opened one eye, squinting at Jungkook. After a few moments, he nodded shortly, moving over to make space for Jungkook.

The youngest climbed into the bed and pulled the blanket up, staring at Yoongi with big doe eyes. Yoongi silently opened his arms and pulled the younger boy closer, holding him tightly. Jungkook relaxed into the man's hold, snuggling as close to Yoongi as possible.

"Thank you hyung, I'm sorry for waking you up so late."

Yoongi smiled softly and closed his eyes again. "Don't mention it, now get some rest bun", he said after a moment, making Jungkook giggle and nod. Sleep came to Jungkook within minutes.

—

Taehyung ruffled Jungkook's hair as they waited to go on stage, a big smile on both their faces. Namjoon watched them with a smile and shook his head softly while Seokjin poked Yoongi's side while doing a little dance, obviously excited to go back on stage again.

"One minute!", a staff member called out, the seven boys looking up and rushing to the entrance of the stage. Loud cheers and laughs were audible as fans sang along with the MV's playing on the two screens next to the main stage.

Jungkook smiled as he stood next to Hoseok, looking around himself to see everyone wearing big smiles on their faces as well. Hoseok looked over and poked his cheek.

"I'm glad you're back here with us Jungkook", he said softly to him.

Jungkook gulped as he shook his hands a little, feeling jittery and filled with energy. "Me too hyung", he answered before he focused his gaze on the stage. The lights went out, gasps emitting from the crowd as the seven boys rushed on stage.

Jungkook took a deep breath before the lights went back on and the music started. He couldn't help the smile that grew on his face as the fans screamed when the camera zoomed in on him. It was his special little comeback after all.

And as he started dancing along with the other members, singing his parts the best he could, Jungkook realized that he was truly happy now. He was finally back home.

I apologize for the short and crappy ending. This story has been giving me more sadness than happiness lately, but I didn't want to leave it unfinished. Thank you for sticking around until the end. Stay safe everyone.

-S