To What Was Ours

repenting (seokjin)

It occurred to him then, when he listened to the sounds of laughter and expected another voice to join in, that despite them all having made it home over an hour ago, eaten dinner, washed up, and entered a period of relaxation, that Jungkook still hadn't made it back from the company building.

He explained that he needed to talk to their dance instructor first, having also been purposely vague about the reason behind the holdup. Despite this, none of his hyungs found any reason to enquire him further and told him to try and make it before dinner.

While the others were gathering their things and were in the midsts of exiting, a thought crossed the eldest's mind. Not out of place, but a bit surprising. An urge, more than anything.

"Hey," Jin gently touched his arm before Jungkook could turn, causing the younger to look back with a quirked brow. "Be careful driving back. It's already getting crazy out there."

The maknae flashed him an easy smile, blindingly white, and his eyes sparkled for a moment. "I will, Hyung. Don't worry."

Already sensing the impending 'you worry too much,' or, 'I know you love me the most, Hyung, but relax,' he decided not to pursue a lecture on driving in heavy weather and trusted Jungkook to get home safely, no matter how slow he had to drive to do so.

Easing up, Jin returned the smile softly, patting his muscled arms gently twice. "Alright. See you soon."

There was no reason to worry.

Jungkook continued to give him that easy grin, familiar and soothing, and Jin let him go. His hand released his loose grip, and Jungkook took a step away.

"See you soon, Jin Hyung."

Jin's eyes glanced down as his wrist simultaneously rose. 6:55. The last time he checked the time, it had been half-past five, and they were already at the dorm by then.

To his credit, Jungkook had texted them right before they settled for dinner, saying he was held up longer than he thought, but would be there soon. The group chat responded with an assortment of replies, Taehyung's the most memorable. 'Hurry home, Kook, I miss you . . .'

But that was still a stretch of time ago, and there hadn't been any update since. It wasn't unlike him to not be on top of keeping his Hyungs informed, but with the rain and all . .

Seokjin peeked down at the pot of boiling water, just as it began to stain brown, the flavoring polluting like an oil spill. A faint wash of mint covered his nose. Tiny spurts threatened to fly up far enough to nip at his chin.

He felt something shift, then. Like he had been splashed with a bucket of ice-cold water and was left to contemplate the odd rejuvenation. It felt as though the world had suddenly shifted axis, or placed him in a different body.

An odd, completely new feeling, settled within him. One that he could immediately call by a personal name, but he didn't know the name. He knew the name.

In that moment, Seokjin knew.

Call it an instinct. Whatever it was, he didn't like where it made his mind wander. He bristled the ice cubes away, digging in his pocket for his phone. The time had moved only a minute further.

There were no new texts. He paused for a moment, close to typing up some sort of question, but then shook his head. It was only seven. He usually only intervened when it ventured into later hours. By their standards, this was an early night, and Jungkook was fully obliged to take advantage of that. There was no reason to worry, not when he had told him to drive with care.