TW: This story contains extreme graphic violence/physical & mental abuse, eating disorders, depression, heavy angst, blood, vomiting, torture.
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"No! All of the rooms are already taken!" Jungkook shouted at his manager from the other side of the conference table. The maknae was already sweating with anxiety. It wasn't like him to yell, especially not at authority, but he was panicking.
He didn't want a new band member.
None of them did.
But Manager Junso just dropped the bomb on the group that they would be getting one whether they liked it or not.
"We've been a band of seven for going on four years, we can't just be given a new member," Namjoon protested. As the groups leader he had been trying his hardest to stick up for his team. They had all expressed that none of them wanted an 8th member. They were already a close knit family, anyone else was just an intruder at this point.
Junso ignored Namjoon's comment. "I trust you guys can figure out the living arrangements, your house is big enough," Junso replied to Jungkook.
That much was true, the members did have a big house. It was located on the edge of the mountains, had an in-ground pool, a basketball court, there were ATV trails through the woods. It was paradise for them.
Paradise that they had earned and worked hard for as a group of seven.
Their arrangements had been set in stone from the moment they moved in. As the two oldest, Jin and Yoongi both had their own rooms. Taehyung and Jungkook shared a room. Namjoon, Jimin, and Hobi were also roommates.
They only had those four bedrooms which meant taking in another person would also ruin that arrangement.
"Just because it's big enough doesn't mean we want him." Jimin frowned and crossed his arms.
"Now boys, as I've already explained to you once, this will be great for you. It will bring new energy to this team, a new dynamic. It can take you to so many new places," Junso told them with a smile. He had a trainee named Ky-Shi who had been practicing for months. Junso decided he'd be perfect for a group, and his perfect group would be BTS.
"We don't need new energy, we already have Hobi hyung," Taehyung said. All of the members looked at Taehyung and nodded. They agreed with him.
"Why our band? Why not stick him in someone else's band?" Yoongi asked, "Maybe a band that isn't as established as us yet? I mean what would ARMY think? What if they don't like it?"
"With his visuals and his dance style and singing style, he will fit best with you guys. And ARMY will just have to accept it. As long as you guys make a great team, I'm sure they will love it," Junso replied.
"But what if we don't make a great team?" Jin asked. "What if he's not a good team player? We've all worked hard to understand eachothers needs and wants these past few years. It may come naturally now, but it didn't at first."
"Well then sounds like you guys will know how to handle that all on your own, won't you?" Junso replied. Manager Junso was getting a little bit irritated. He'd already made the arrangements and signed Ky-Shi into the band.
"You did that before even talking to us first?!" Namjoon yelled.
"I was on a time crunch, and not to mention, this is the companies decision. You guys can cry and complain all you want, but at the end of the day you really just have to suck it up," Junso said.
The members sat there speechless. They knew their manager could be a bit of a jerk sometimes but this seemed pretty low even for him.
Jungkook's bottom lip was trembling as he bit it. He hated this whole thing. He was so shy when he'd first met all of his hyungs and he was so open and carefree with them now. He hated the thought of feeling shy in his own home again because someone new was around. He also was nervous to ask the question, but came out with it.
"How old is he?" Jungkook felt his heartbeat pick up. As of right now he was BTS' beloved maknae and he wanted it to stay that way. He loved being the youngest of the group. He was spoiled by his hyungs day in and day out and always got away with pulling the maknae card. The thought of having a new possible maknae made him nervous. What if his hyungs started to like the new maknae better? What if he wasn't loved as much anymore?
"He's 29," Junso said.
All of the members gasped.
"29?!" Jin screamed. "That would make him my hyung! That would mean he's the oldest!" Jin, as the oldest of the group, had just hit 24.
"He's ten years older than Jungkookie? He could be a grandfather!" Taehyung yelled.
"Watch it Taehyung!" Junso said.
"I don't want a hyung!" Jin cried. "I love being the oldest!" Jin felt his heart break a bit. He was so used to being the oldest of the house. The oldest of the family. He took so much pride in taking care of his six dongsaengs. He hated the idea of someone older stepping in. That meant he'd have a new authority he'd have to respect. A new authority in his own house. Someone he would have to honor and obey. Just as much as Jungkook loved playing the maknae card, Jin loved playing the hyung card. He didn't want to give that up.
"Isn't that a bit old?" Yoongi added.
"He can do the job. Now I don't want to hear it from anyone else!" Junso slammed his hand on the table making everyone flinch. "Ky-Shi will be the new member of this group, and you will accept that! And you will figure out the living arrangements at the house for him. Now, I am giving you all four weeks off so that you and him can become well acquainted and spend time together before we get down to business. I don't want to hear any more objections, and if you do still object, then you may feel free to leave this band!"
The members stared at eachother wide eyed with anxiety. Jimin was wiping his tears with his shirt sleeve. It was all a lot to take in at once, but he knew there was nothing any of them could do. Nobody said anything else. As much as it sucked, thankfully none of the members were willing to depart. Namjoon started rubbing Jimin's back to comfort him.
"Alright, fine," Namjoon stated. "I guess we will be a group of eight." He too knew that this was beyond his control. He felt sorry for the rest of the group. He had tried very hard as their leader to make sure this didn't come to pass but he quickly realized he wasn't the superhero everyone thought he was and it made his heart hurt with guilt. "When does he move in?"
"Tonight," Junso smiled. "So I am letting you all off early so you may go home and get ready for him. Off you go!"
The members didn't move. They were still too in shock. Tonight?!
When nobody moved, Junso slammed the table again. "I said off you go!" he screamed.
The members flinched and jolted to their feet and quickly made their way towards their car.
Jimin was still crying and Taehyung had his arm wrapped around his hyungs shoulder. Jin offered to drive everyone home and once they got in the car he turned to his dongsaengs.
"Listen. This sucks. We can all agree on that. But clearly there's no way out of it so all we can do is give it a chance, yeah? Maybe this Ky-Shi guy will actually be a lot of fun and have a positive impact on our group? All we can do is make the best of it." Jin could see his dongsaengs needed a little pep talk. They all looked so upset and sad. He loved giving them these little pep talks as the oldest and it struck him with heartache when he realized this was the last time he'd get to do it.
Soon they'd all have a new hyung who would be taking over.
"This sucks." The sadness was evident in the maknae's voice. Although he was glad to still be the maknae, the thought of now having seven hyungs he had to obey at home wasn't appealing either. "Now I have to listen to seven of you?"
"Like you ever listen to any of us anyway," Hobi chuckled.
"I listen!" Jungkook protested.
"Only sometimes," Taehyung laughed. It was true, the members were all so close that it wasn't often they even bothered being formal or obedient to authority anymore. They were just a big group of best friends. And not to mention the entire maknae line got away with absolutely everything.
The members sighed as Jin drove them home. They got inside and realized they needed to quickly figure out living arrangements. Jimin, Hobi, and Namjoon protested that they couldn't fit a fourth person in their room so that was out of the question. Taehyung and Jungkook begged and pleaded to keep their room the same as well. Jin and Yoongi were both feeling bad and decided it would be one of them to give up their free space.
"But my room is too small for two people, "Jin said in an attempt to get Yoongi to openly offer his own room to Ky-Shi. "And you have that queen bed!"
"I'm not sharing my damn bed with him!" Yoongi protested. The rest of his members laughed.
"Yoongi hyung what if you share your room with Jinnie hyung, and Jinnie hyung gives his room to Ky-Shi?" Namjoon suggested.
Jin and Yoongi looked at eachother. "Rock Paper Scissors?" Jin asked, "If I win, he goes to your room. If you win, then I go to your room?"
"So I lose either way?" Yoongi asked. Either way, he'd be having to share his room with someone. Of the two options he definitely preferred his new roommate be Jin.
Jin realized Yoongi really had gotten the short end of the stick. "I guess so. I'm sorry."
Yoongi sighed. "Whatever."
They played rock paper scissors and Yoongi won, meaning Jin would be moving into his room and Ky-Shi would get Jin's.
"Could be worse I guess," Yoongi shrugged. Jin went and immediately got started on moving his things out of his bedroom and into Yoongi's. The rest of his dongsaengs got to work helping him. In Yoongi's room, he and Jin both looked at Yoongi's queen bed.
Yoongi pointed his finger in Jin's face. "Don't get any ideas because first thing tomorrow, we are ordering a bunk bed or something!"
Jin started laughing. He knew Yoongi wasn't much of a cuddler.
"Hyungs I'm hungry," Taehyung suddenly said. "Can we start cooking dinner or do we have to wait for him to get here first? How do we even cook for 8 people?"
Namjoon realized it was actually getting pretty late, they were usually already done with eating dinner by now. He told Taehyung they could get started on cooking so he grabbed him, Hobi, and Jimin to get cooking while Jungkook helped the oldest two finish setting up the bedroom.
"There, good enough," Jin said. They made their way into the kitchen to help the others with dinner. In the middle of cooking they heard a car pulling up.
"Oh, he must be here." Jungkook tried to sound enthusiastic for his hyungs but he was already feeling shy.
The members ran to the door and headed outside to greet their new hyung. They were greeted with a tall, buff man in a hoodie and sweatpants. They could tell he was a bit older because he had some slight facial hair. The members wondered if anyone from the company told him he'd have to shave regularly for work.
Namjoon shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Namjoon. You must be Ky-Shi?"
Ky-Shi smiled and greeted Namjoon back, "Please, you guys can all just call me Ky." The rest of them finished introducing themselves and helped him with his stuff.
"Jinnie hyung gave you his room," Jungkook told Ky.
"Is that so? Thanks, Jin," Ky replied. Jungkook led everyone to the room and also let Ky know that they were just getting started on dinner. They were making pork belly and ramen.
"That's my favorite!" Ky said smiling.
So far, so good. Ky seemed like a really nice guy and he seemed pretty laid back. All of the members wondered if maybe they had just gotten ahead of themselves with worry. Maybe this really wouldn't be such a terrible thing. Maybe having a new family member wouldn't be so bad.
They sat around the table getting to know eachother over dinner and they had a great time. Jungkook was finally able to let go of some of his shy anxiety and show some of his true playful self. His hyungs were proud of him for that. After dinner Jin and Jungkook offered to clean up and do dishes while the rest of them gave Ky the grand tour around the house.
They showed him their huge pool, the shed where they kept all their ATV's, their basketball court, and some of the mountains. Inside they were showing him around the house. When they got to the room Jimin, Namjoon, and Hobi shared, Ky stopped in his tracks.
"Ew, what the hell is that?!" Ky yelled.
"Oh! That's Flyn!" Jimin said beaming. "He's my fish!"
Jimin had a little beta fish in a bowl on his nightstand near his bed. Namjoon started on the history of Flyn because he was extremely significant. He had been gifted to the members by a fan a few years ago because Flyn was purple and had a white spot that greatly depicted the BTS logo. Jimin seemed to want Flyn all to himself and the members decided he'd be Jimin's fish. They didn't really know how a human and a fish could bond, but somehow Jimin managed to do it. Sometimes Jimin would even bring Flyn's bowl to the kitchen table during game nights so he "wouldn't feel left out of the family."
"Disgusting," Ky spat. "Fish are disgusting. Most animals are."
"You don't like animals?" Hobi asked curiously. Hobi knew that had to be some kind of red flag, who on earth didn't like animals?
"Generally speaking. All they do is make a mess."
"You don't like messes? You'll get along great with Hobi. All he does is clean," Namjoon told Ky. Ky looked Hobi up and down and rolled his eyes. The members noticed this but didn't say anything. It was an odd interaction.
They made their way back into the kitchen and Jin and Jungkook had just finished up the dishes. It was pretty late and the maknae was feeling tired from all of today's emotions so he said goodnight to his hyungs and headed off to bed. Yoongi took a seat next to Taehyung at the kitchen counter and they started reading a comic book together. Which turned into Yoongi reading it while Taehyung rested his head on his hyungs shoulder and ate an ice cream.
The rest of them hung out in the living room and as the night progressed soon Jimin, Namjoon, Hobi, and Jin were quick to retire to bed too. Ky walked over to Taehyung and Yoongi in the kitchen.
"It's about time to get going to bed," Ky said to the two.
"Okay, goodnight," Yoongi said without taking his eyes off the comic book.
Ky lowered the book. "I meant all of us. It's time to go to bed."
"But we have time off now, we don't need to go to bed yet. And I haven't finished my ice cream." Taehyung continued to lick the cone in his hand. Ky ripped the ice cream out of Taehyung's hand and dropped it in the garbage.
"Why the hell did you-" Yoongi started but he was cut off by Ky pinching Taehyung's stomach.
"You don't look like you really need ice cream, now do you?"
Taehyung jerked out of the pinch, completely speechless. He opened his mouth in disbelief but no words came out. He didn't know it was possible to feel so hurt so quickly. He felt a tear escape his eye and roll down his cheek as he stood up and quickly hugged Yoongi, "Good...goodnight hyung. I'm going to bed." He ran away to his room before Yoongi could reply.
Yoongi turned to Ky. "Why did you do that to him? You have no idea how sensitive he is. That's really going to bother him now. You don't just say things like that to Taehyung."
Ky shrugged. "Didn't bother me any."
Ky walked past Yoongi and shoulder checked him upon passing. "Now like I said, it's time to go to bed." Ky stood there and waited for Yoongi to get a move on it. The rapper slammed his book down on the kitchen counter and made his way to his room. It wasn't that he wanted to listen to Ky or be obedient, but he was really angry and wanted to get away from him.
He thought Ky was going to be a good fit. He thought Ky and the members were getting along quite well so far. He was realizing first impressions weren't always real ones.
And now they had a problem.