You guys were more than just boyfriends.
Jin's words rung in Jungkook's ears. He stared at the risk assessment that he had been writing up for the kitchen for the Lamb Skewers place. Jin's kitchen already had one and since Jungkook was employing more workers, his kitchen called for a new safety plan.
Don't give up on him so easily.
Around him, Yoonkook Lamb Skewers was a mess. The old wooden chairs had been thrown out and the doors had been ripped from its hinges. Jin had taken the liberty of redesigning the whole building plus adding an extension.
Both food places were closed. The reopening? In one month. Jinnie's Pasta Palace was getting an extension at the front and back and Yoonkook Lamb Skewers would become brand new with an added office for Jungkook.
All the usual waiters and cooks with professional builders worked harmoniously all preparing for when Jin would come back.
Yoongi is...gone
Jungkook's own mind was scrambled: one part questioning whether doing all this without Yoongi was okay and the other itching for a new beginning.
Don't let loneliness cloud your judgement.
Jungkook knew...he knew that he needed Yoongi. Yoongi filled him up in a way that nobody else could -not even Jin could fill him up the way Yoongi could. Jin was a star, bright, dazzling even on its own. Yoongi was a tree. An old oak one. The tsundere one who you could talk to because he was always there. Children gazed at stars and sheltered under trees. They needed both, not one.
Jungkook smiled at the thought of Yoongi being a short, grumpy tree but the happy smile became a bittersweet one.
I hope that if Yoongi were to ever return, you'd welcome him with open arms.
And as much as he loved Jin, he wouldn't deny that he wanted Yoongi back. Desperately. In his dreams, he could see the three of them, laughing together, with maybe a kid-
Jungkook shook his head, "Stop dreaming about the impossible." He muttered to himself furiously scolding his conscience for having such incredulous thoughts.
A tap on his shoulder made him look up, it was Wooseok, "It's time for employee interviews."
Determinedly, Jungkook stood up,
"Let's do this."
***
"I'm so sorry I kept answering the phone!"
Namjoon profusely apologised to Hoseok who did the same, "No! I had to take a phone call right in the middle of a conversation. I made you wait in the classroom all by yourself."
The two men were at Namjoon's house in his studio. The 24 year old was a busy man. He worked two part-time jobs all while studying for his music degree and producing music on the sidelines. He had to have some sort of income the pay for his education and passion.
It was sleepover night and the clock struck 2.
Hoseok now came to visit Namjoon much more often. The younger seemed to have no time to spend with Hoseok apart from the lunch breaks at his office job. Although they hadn't been friends for long, Hoseok knew much about the younger. He knew that Namjoon was a genius (IQ 148), that he was a shy fluffball, that he liked plushies but his Ryan one was his favourite, that meat made him happy and vegetables were okay but they used to make him squirm when he was a child, that he had a little sister who he swore was annoying but would always buy something for her when he went shopping.
To Hoseok, Namjoon was an open book.
It was kinda cute.
Fuck. It was really cute.
"I didn't mind." Hoseok grinned at the way Namjoon tilted his head, "You took me out to eat."
"Did you like the food?"
Namjoon squealed, spinning in his wheely chair, "It was amazing!"
"Aw,cute." The younger man immediately quietened down, becoming embarrassed at the compliment. Hoseok's ears turned slightly red because he hadn't meant for the words to escape his mouth .
"You really need to stop complimenting me like that."
Hoseok leaned forward so that their noses were touching, "And how shall I make it up to you?" Their lips came closer, legs touching.
"You could always-"
BABY BABY BABY OHHHHHHHHHH. BABY BABY BABY BABY NOOOOOOOOOOO. BABY BABY BAY OHHHHHHHHHH. THOUGHT YOU'D ALWAYS BE MINE. MINE.
The two swivelled away from each other, Hoseok swearing. Namjoon scrambled to retrieve his phone from his pocket, "Taehyung-ah it's 2 in the morning, why are you calling so late?" He and Taehyung had not had one conversation alone since that phone call where the younger urged him to talk to Hoseok.
Choked sobs came from the other side, "N-n-namjoon h-hyunnngggg."
Shit.
"Are you at home?" Taehyung didn't need to say anymore. His hyung began to hurriedly put on his jacket over his pyjamas storming out of his studio.
"Y-y-yeah."
"Okay, baby. I'm coming over right now. Can you wait a little bit?" Namjoon blamed himself. He hadn't been keeping track of his dongsaeng the way should have: he hadn't even given the younger a call.
Taehyung sniffed, still slightly hysterical, "H-hurry uppp."
Namjoon didn't want to hang up but as he exited his apartment, he paused at the doorstep. Rain hammered the ground and wind made his pyjama bottoms fly around. Pressing the end button, he zipped up his jacket, cursing himself for wearing sliders.
A body rushed past him, "Come into my car!"
Hoseok still hadn't changed, clad in all black and protective boots. The two ran together reaching the car wet. Namjoon shivered but he didn't care, putting on his seat-belt, he worriedly dialled Taehyung again, "Seokie, just drive!"
Thunder rolled as the call went to voicemail, "Oh no, Taehyungie hates thunder."
Namjoon grabbed the GPS, typing in the address so that Hoseok wouldn't go in the wrong direction, "You didn't have to come."
"No problem, any friend of yours is a friend of mine." It was the first time Hoseok had ever seen Namjoon so worried and afraid for someone. The man's eyes creased, and his lips were set in this firm line as his eyes darted left, right and centre in impatience. Hoseok deemed whoever this person was as important. He had to be since he could hear Namjoon talking to himself like a madman.
"It's not incredibly far, Namjoon, chill out. But it's not that close either. Oh shut up conscience, nobody wanted your opinion. But your the one that won't reach Tae on time. Yes. I will. Says the one who hasn't talked to him in a month. I'm going to be there for him. I will. I absolutely will." Namjoon groaned slapping a hand on his forehead. What a shitty friend he was. He drowned in his sorrows but looked down when he felt something on his thighs.
Hoseok's left hand gently squeezed his legs, "We'll get there in time, Joonie. I'll get you there on time."
With that, he swerved left, "I'm taking a shortcut."
***
Thanks to the car's heating and Hoseok's emergency umbrella, Namjoon had dried up by the time they arrived at Taehyung's house.
"Holy shit." Hoseok breathed, in awe of the building in front of them.
"Yeah," Namjoon searched his pocket for his set of keys, "Taehyung lives on the richer side of town."
He hurriedly opened the door, rushing into the house, "Tae Tae! Joonie's here!"
A whimper came from somewhere in the living room and Namjoon left Hoseok in the hallway in search for his friend. When he entered the living room he didn't see Taehyung but he immediately knew where the younger was.
Surrounding the table was an army of cushions and plushies. Tawhyung had an impressive collection- one even larger than Namjoon's. As he neared closer, Namjoon could hear Taehyung's hiccups. He started to move the cushions, "Tae?"
Underneath the table was Taehyung: long limbs folded close together in fear, "N-namjoon hyunnnngggg."
"Awww, it's okay baby." Namjoon engulfed Taehyung in a hug, the two men squished underneath the furniture, "Nothing's gonna hurt you."
The younger cried into Namjoon's jacket, "I had a n-nightmare a-and then the thunder came and-" at the remembrance, he started wailing, unable to talk more, "The mafia's gonna get me!"
"Well, no mafia in this world can get you now. Look at me, I'm here."
Even though Taehyung's vision was blurry due to tears, he still could see the kindness in Namjoon's eyes and the love in his hold, "P-promise they w-won't get m-me?"
Softly, Namjoon stroked Taehyung's hair, "Promise."
"A thousand times?" He was starting to calm down now.
"One billion trillion thousand times."
With one last sniff, Taehyung wiped his eyes, "Kay."
"Should I feed you anything?"
"I want soup." Taehyung pouted, "But you can't make soup!"
"Yah! If you're gonna tell me I'm bad at cooking, at least do it a bit subtly." Namjoon sighed, "How about this, I have a friend with me right now, if he can make soup we'll make soup. If he can't, will ramen do?"
"Don't leave me alone though!"
"I'll put on a movie and then pop into the kitchen. What are we watching today?"
"I wanna watch Dora!"
"Dora it is then...But you've got to come out from under this table, okay?"
"Okay." Slowly, Taehyung's legs unravelled as he crawled out, "But I'm taking Mang and TaTa with me."
"Sure baby, whatever you want."
Hand in hand, both of them walked to Taehyung's room. Namjoon searched through the options with the remote. There wasn't much to search for: the younger had all the seasons of Dora the Explorer uploaded.
Namjoon was reluctant to leave, making sure that he wiped all of Taehyung's tears, "I'm sorry we drifted apart for a bit."
The younger looked up, smiling weakly, "But you still came for me. Even though I was being pathetic."
Namjoon kissed Taehyung's cheek, "I'll always l come for you because someone as special as you can't be pathetic. Love you Tae." He stroked his hair before going to leave.
He didn't hear Taehyung's quiet, "I love you more."
He was too busy looking for Hoseok, who he found sitting on the sofa awkwardly. In seeing Namjoon, he jumped up, "Is he okay?"
"He wants soup." He sighed, sad that he couldn't cook a good meal for someone he cared about.
"Let's make soup then." Hoseok didn't see why Namjoon was stressing so much, "Don't worry, I'll make it edible. "
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, cut up the vegetables."
Hoseok was about to see just how bad Namjoon was in the kitchen.
***
2 hours and 1 season of Dora the Explorer later, the soup was done.
After multiple problems (all caused by the one and only Kim Namjoon) and a few near fires, the food in the saucepan didn't look half bad. Hoseok chuckled wiping flour off his forehead, "I think we did pretty well."
Namjoon, who had egg in his hair held his grubby hands up for a high five, "I think we did well too, considering that all the food in Taehyung's cupboards are now half empty."
Returning the high hive, Hoseok grabbed a spoon that miraculously wasn't dirty, "Let's try this out." He dipped the spoon in the red food, the thick liquid instantly covering it, "You first Namjoon-ah."
Namjoon opened his mouth as Hoseok put the spoon in. Linking his lips, his eyes widened, "Damn. Better than I expected. Not worthy for some fancy dinner place but still good"
Hoseok eagerly tried some, "Mmmmm. I think our TaeTae can have it."
The other's rich laugh filled the kitchen, "If he's even awake. The sun is rising."
The elder waved his hand in the air, "Details. Details. Just keep the curtains closed and he won't know."
"I'll find out if he's awake, you fill a bowl with soup." He ordered, cleaning his hands.
"I'll get right to it."
Both of them sprung into action. Namjoon walked to Taehyung's room satisfied. The younger had fallen asleep curled up with Mang and Tata under his arm, the glow of the TV illuminating his face, "Taehyung-ah. Wake up. I got you food."
Taehyung stirred, eyes fluttering open, "Soup?"
"Yes child, soup."
With Namjoon's help he sat up, wrinkling his nose at the elder, "Hyung, you look horrible but you smell really nice."
Namjoon chuckled, "You know how bad I am at cooking."
"Your friend must be really good at cooking."
"He's no Jin hyung, but we managed to cook a mean soup."
"Have I met him?"
Namjoon gasped guilty, "I totally forgot to tell you! Remember that guy I told you about?"
Taehyung gulped, "The one I said you should talk to?"
"Yeah! You guys can finally meet!"
Taehyung clenched his fists under the covers, deciding that he was going to have to be civil, "He has been treating you well, right?"
"Taehyung-ah," Namjoon leaned in, whispering, "he's amazing!" The elder's face lit up like a candle as he began to describe the man, "we went out to eat and he comes and visits me at work and-"
"Namjoonie, can I come in?" To Taehyung, the voice sounded familiar but he disregarded his brain, ignoring the alarm bells. They were probably due to over protectiveness.
The door opened and Taehyung noticed the red hair contrasting against black clothes. A man with large but straight teeth had walked in and Taehyung knew that he was about to die.
At first, the other man didn't look up, too busy putting the tray on the bedside table but he looked up and was met with a face that had turned deathly pale. A face that he had seen once yet recognised instantly.
Fuck.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The loud scream made Hoseok fall backwards onto the floor in shock and fear. The elder man let out his own wail of terror, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The two screamed like hippos in a choir, leaving Namjoon in the middle, dazed, "Guys?"
None of the two men heard so Namjoon had no choice but to raise his voice, "OI, LISTEN UP GENTLEMEN, LET'S ALL SHUT THE FUCK UP LIKE GOOD LITTLE KIDS AND SORT THIS SHIT OUT LIKE THE REAL HOMOSAPIENS WE ARE!"
Hoseok and Taehyung both looked at Namjoon in surprise but the tension had yet to rise. Leaping up on his bed, Taehyung grabbed his Mang plushy, "WITH THE POWER OF MANG, I REPEL YOU, YOU MAFIA SCUM!"
Hoseok looked genuinely scared: "Look. There's been some misunderstanding."
Taehyung bent down to grab Tata, "NOW MY TATA WILL SMASH YOU INTO ONE BILLION PIECES SO YOU CAN'T WORK FOR THE MAFIA."
Namjoon had had enough,"Taehyung! Stop being ridiculous ! This is Hoseok and he doesn't work for the mafia!"
At the name, the younger became slack, "W-w-waaiiitttt. J-jung Hoseok?" Back when he and Jimin had gone to see Hoseok in the dance studio, the elder man had apparently left early with rumours of him having a date with him. Taehyung desperately hoped -for Jimin's sake- that the said date had not been Namjoon.
"How do you know my name?"
"D-do happen to know P-park J-jimin? H-he's kinda short and really fit with these really cute tendencies but he actually has a terrifying temper. A-and he's the best contemporary dancer known to man."
Please don't be Jimin's crush.
Hoseok's eyes widened protectively, "How do you know my Jimin?"
Taehyung's head spun at this newfound information. So they had all known each other all along? How? It was all unfair! Jimin's crush had taken Taehyung's crush and now the whole thing had become some kind of messed up love square. He couldn't take it anymore. He spluttered out some incoherent words before his legs gave out under him.
And he passed out.
A/N And this concludes my daily updates! Updates will be weekly from now on!
This chapter is 2.15k words, ya girl worked hard on this even though it mostly revolves around our subplot. (they need some love too)
This lowkey made me wanna write a vmonseok sequel.
Ya liked?