Taehyung was good at a great deal of things and he knew it. Identifying different types of spiders, for example. Trying out different roles in his high school drama club. Making people feel loved—he was good at that too.
He was good at a great deal of things, so it really bothered him when he fell into this new world and realized that it was no longer about what he was good at doing, but more about what he was good at not doing.
It was important to not attract attention. To not say anything that would give away their identity and who they were associated with. To not do risky things, to not get in danger, to not cause other people to get hurt.
And Taehyung tried, he really did, he put all his effort into just existing and not doing anything, but it wasn't enough. By just existing, he had somehow attracted multiple creeps who all wanted a piece of him, and got Yoongi injured.
All by simply existing.
He hated that.
It wasn't his fault, Yoongi had told him countless times, but there was blood trickling down his face and blood coming out of his nose and blood smeared over his teeth and Taehyung hated that.
It wasn't his fault, Jin had said as he patched Yoongi up with skillful fingers and a forced smile, but Taehyung sensed sadness in others easily (another thing to add to the list of the great deal things he was good at) and he could tell that Jin was crying inside. His Jiminie and Kookie were crying inside too. Even Hoseok, strong, fearless Hoseok, was crying inside.
Namjoon and Yoonji were crying openly. And Taehyung hated that.
And now their third race was going to start, and Yoongi couldn't fly. He wanted to, but Jin and Hoseok were adamant to make him stay on the ground until the gash on his head completely healed. The medical technology in this era was advanced, but head wounds weren't things that just vanished without a trace.
"It's a seven-person race this time," Hoseok had informed everyone, reading from the envelope that arrived, bound onto his pretty graffiti board that Taehyung had always been in awe of. "I'll have to fly. Everyone already knows I'm with you guys from the last match anyway, so... might as well."
Taehyung could sense Jin wincing, not wanting to be reminded of the previous match.
"And since Yoongi can't fly right now but everyone will be expecting him to since he’s a team member..." Hoseok continued, trailing off as his eyes met those of Min Yoonji, the newest addition to their little family.
"I'll fly in his place, yeah," Yoonji offered calmly, like it was no big deal. "No one's gonna recognize me without the makeup, and our boards are near identical in appearance anyway."
"You sure you're okay with that?" Yoongi asked from where he was lying on the couch. He had protested multiple times that he was perfectly fine and didn't have to lie down, but Jin and Hoseok wouldn't hear of it.
"Why wouldn't I be? I've always loved crossdressing," Yoonji replied, already trying out her brother's cap on her head and studying herself in the mirror. Somehow she managed to look twice as badass as Yoongi did.
"No, I mean... it's just... the races, they're dangerous," Yoongi protested weakly. Taehyung could tell that he was still in pain, despite his claims that he'd already fully recovered. It made Taehyung's own shoulder wound throb in sympathy.
