nyctophilia | j.jk ✔️

2|9|A Family To Hold

2|9|A Family To Hold

Previously:

"Uhm, uh," he quickly nudged me in such a way it was like he wanted me to get off. I got off his lap in confusion and wondered if my heaviness actually hurt him. I looked down at his lap to see if they were hurting but instead I saw something poking the inside of his black pants. "Bathroom!"

He quickly stood up and nearly ran to the bathroom door leaving behind a very embarassed and melting me.

Presently:

The days that followed our newly labelled relationship were some of the best. Sure, they went out to do 'work' sometimes, and yeah, maybe I didn't get to see Jungkook as often as I would have liked, but the mere thought that they were alive was enough to keep me going through my day.

Jungkook had refused to let me go on more seduction missions and had discussed with Namjoon to make it so that I stay at home and did no field work. It was very sweet for him to worry but I felt a bit frustrated that he thought me so fragile. 

"Oh it's not because you're fragile," Jungkook said one late evening when he came back from an assassination. We were in the bathroom and he was wearing just his pants; his shirt was discarded as he wiped his torso with a wet towel. "It's because I don't want you to seduce men other than me. You kissed Youngjae last time, but it's not every time that you can control the situation. If they try something on you, I'm not sure I will allow them to breathe anymore."

His words made me blush (like they always did) and my knees went weak but I leaned against the basin to make sure I don't collapse. 

"Alright but then what should I do?" I asked him. "I don't want to be a freeloader."

"You can cook?" Jungkook suggested. He draped the stained towel around his neck and walked closer to me. "If you don't know how, Jin-hyung will teach you. Jin-hyung is busy a load of time. We don't trust anyone else to make our food because it can be poisoned, but Jin-hyung can't always make food for us because he has his own share of workload too. You can help that way."

"That will be wonderful!" I smiled warmly at him. "Now come on, you go and have a nice warm bath, I'll help Jin-oppa to set the table. It's nearly dinner time!"

Jungkook made a noise of agreement and started to make preparations for his bath so I went downstairs to the kitchen which was the dining room too. Jin was stirring something in a pan and looked up when I came.

"Oh good, are you here to help?" He looked enquiringly. I nodded and walked over to the drawers behind him. "Get out 6 plates today, Hoseok-ah and Ji-soo-ah have gone out to one of our restaurants for dinner. And Namjoon is held in a meeting so we're 3 people down."

"Okay," I pulled out the dishes for 6 people and laid them onto their correct places for dinner. Just as I was pouring the water for everyone, Jimin and Taehyung entered the room, talking animatedly about something. They sat down on their places while giving me warm smiles.

Five minutes later, Yoongi and Jungkook came down together discussing something quietly. When everyone sat down, we started to eat.

"When will Namjoon-oppa have dinner?" I asked Jin, having to look across Jungkook and Taehyung. 

"He'll come back at 11 I think," Jin said and spooned the broth into his mouth. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he's well-fed before going to bed."

I saw Jungkook and Taehyung share a smirk and found that odd. Why did they do that? We talked a bit over dinner to learn who was up to what and when dinner ended, I stayed back to help Jin with the dishes.

"I'll wash them, you just scrape the leftovers on a plate for Namjoon," Jin said as he placed the bowls and dishes in the sink.

"Okay," I started removing the food onto a large plate. "Jin-oppa, can you teach me to cook? I mean, I can cook, but I want to learn the way you cook these dishes because the others like them a lot. Jungkook-ah refused to let me do field work so he said that I should help you cook."

"Ah sure, why not?" Jin smiled as he scrubbed the dishes. "You know, the reason they like my food as much as they do is because when they had nothing to eat, it was my food that gave them the energy and warmth they desired. I poured a lot of love and care into what I made and over time, I have become quite good at cooking; but the real reward is when I see them happily eating it, glad to have imparted such happiness amongst them."

I could feel that he was feeling emotional at the moment and didn't interrupt him. I finished putting the food onto the plate and took all the pots and pan to the basin where Jin scrubbed the other vessels. He paused and turned to face me.

"(Y/n)-ah, I told you once some time ago that I have someone I want to be married to," he said with a sad smile. "I think it is long overdue to tell you who it is."

He paused and looked at the dishes before gulping softly. His eyes ran back to me but I said nothing, a small smile lilting on my face to encourage him to speak.

"I love Namjoon," he said softly. My eyes widened, because that was in some ways, unexpected. "If you felt weirded out or disgusted, I understand. I thought you would understand and said it, but if it troubled you–"

"No, Jin-oppa, I do understand," I said quickly, making him fall silent and simply look into my eyes. "I am not repulsed by it, just surprised because I didn't think you were gay. Of course, living in South Korea doesn't help..."

"No, it doesn't," Jin said heavily turning to scrub the dishes once again. "I don't have to worry about being found out because we are all as close as brothers and it's hard to figure it out for others, but it's more of the fact that I know my country will not accept me with its conservative ways. However, I cannot stop loving him either. I haven't said anything about this to anyone, but Namjoon loves me as much as I love him and Yoongi found out. You are the fourth person to know."

"Why didn't you tell the others?" I whispered softly. He sighed.

"It's not that I don't trust them or because I think they will push me away, no," Jin answered. "I know they love me too much to let such a thing affect them but I feel that as long as they don't know about it, they are blissfully ignorant."

"Are they?" I doubted. "Jungkook-ah and Tae were smirking when you said that you'll make sure he is well-fed."

"Well," Jin blushed, "If they found out on their own or suspect anything, I can't really say..."

"I don't think it will change much," I answered truthfully. "It'll be better if you tell them, y'know?"

"Perhaps," Jin shrugged. "It's a joint decision and if Namjoon agrees, maybe we will do so. I don't want to keep them in the dark any longer either..."

I smiled at him and turned away to cover Namjoon's plate. As I tucked into Jungkook's side under the blanket ten minutes later after saying goodnight to Jin, I thought about the eight people around me.

Everyday was a risk, a unique worry of losing any of them to death. But as long as I am alive and so are they, they are a family for my heart to hold. They are the warmth in my stomach, and the love inside me. 

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Updated/Published On:
11th August 2020
11/08/2020