Chapter Text
Minho felt so antsy that he couldn’t keep still. It was like there were over a million insects crawling underneath the skin of his legs, and if he didn’t continue to move with every passing second, they’d overflow and spill out of him like a river.
“You know, babe, if you keep pacing like that we’re going to end up with your footprints imprinted into the carpet,” Jonghyun said, sitting on one edge of the couch and smirking at him, one leg crossed over the other.
He groaned, hiding his face in his hands but still not stopping, shuffling around their living room in continuous circles. “I know, I know,” he replied, his thumb making its way into his mouth to bite on the frayed skin there. “I just can’t help it.”
“Bullshit,” Kibum stated, returning to the room with a tray full of four drinks, instantly moving over to Jonghyun and passing him the only mug containing a straw.
“Hot cocoa with whipped cream?” the elder asked, looking hopeful as he clasped the cup by his fingertips.
Kibum laughed. “And marshmallows,” he answered. Jonghyun whooped, blowing the small string of steam away and immediately sipped from the straw, closing his eyes in contentment as the warm liquid travelled through him.
Minho shook his head in fond amusement. “You’re satisfied by such trivial things, hyung,” he murmured, smiling nonetheless.
“Hey!” Jonghyun yelled back playfully. “It’s the little things that matter the most!”
“Which is why I love you,” the younger teased, revelling in the way the elder instantly bristled and glared back at him, looking ready to pounce in the same way an angry kitten would.
Kibum swatted at the younger with his free hand, settling the tray down to one side before yanking Minho’s lanky body onto the sofa, trapping the other’s arms beneath his smaller frame and inevitably stopping the onslaught of pacing Minho was still doing.
“Enough of that,” he warned, stifling a smile at their antics, attempting to be the mature one in the situation. “You being naturally taller than a lamppost does not give you automatic permission to go picking on your shorter boyfriends, you understand?”
“Completely,” Minho said, a smug grin adorning his face.
Jonghyun didn’t seem satisfied. “Oh, come on! Is that it?” he protested, a small pout appearing on his lips. “My pride has been hurt here! I’m going to demand compensation for this!”
Kibum sighed loudly. “Jjong, you can’t claim compensation for something you never had,” he said wistfully, the two younger men watching with delight as Jonghyun huffed at his response.
“I’m gonna tell Jinki-hyung,” he stated. “And then you’re both gonna get it.”
Minho was struggling to stop himself from laughing. “And then you wonder why it’s you we decide to pick on. Your reactions are priceless.”
“I’ll stop talking to both of you,” the elder threatened with a smirk, loving how the others’ faces instantly dropped at his words. Which was understandable, considering that the last time he’d said he’d do it, he shut them out and not uttered a peep to them both for a record time of just over 33 hours (they’d learnt their lesson rather quickly).
Kibum held up his hands in surrender, Minho following suit straight away. “Okay, okay, we’ll stop,” Kibum placated, finally getting a handle on his growing laughter and smiling warmly towards the elder. “You know that we love you.”
Jonghyun looked up at them both, unable to prevent the upturn of his mouth. “Yeah,” he sighed, pushing his hair back with one hand and taking another sip from his drink. “I know.”
Shaking his head fondly, Kibum turned his attention back to the still relatively trapped younger man sitting half in his lap, whose leg had begun bouncing up and down again in agitation, his jitteriness returning with a vengeance now that the teasing had stopped.
“Hey,” he murmured, placing a hand over the moving limb and gently but firmly pushing it down to slow the motion for a while. Minho flicked his gaze over, stare apologetic, top teeth pulling on the skin of his bottom lip out of habit. “What’s up with you, eh? I haven’t seen you this ruffled up for quite some time. What’s going on?”
The younger lowered his eyes, his fingers snaking their way into Kibum’s resting hand, and the elder squeezed back in reassurance. “I’m not too sure,” Minho mumbled, head coming to rest on the other’s shoulder. “I just… I feel really antsy for some reason. Like I can’t keep still. The boys are late and it’s making me nervous and I just… I’m struggling to not move because when I don’t that sick feeling in my stomach comes back, and I hate it.”
“Aw, babe,” Kibum said gently. “That’s just your nerves.” He pressed a soft kiss to the younger’s temple, clasping him closer. “I know you get worried when people arrive late, but it’s only been 10 minutes since the boys were meant to be here, and it was quite short notice since we requested they come over, so I’m not surprised that they’re a little late.”
Minho opened his mouth to retaliate, but Kibum flicked his ear lightly, continuing as if the interruption had never happened. “But, I promise you that they’ll be here any second and this feeling will go away, okay? Have I ever lied to you?”
As if on cue, there was a sharp knock on the front door, the noise resonating down the hallway and ringing out in the living room, Minho releasing a heavy breath and finally starting to relax his body at the sound.
Kibum looked over at Jonghyun, the elder already standing and brushing himself down before a word was even uttered. “I’ll get it,” he reassured, sending a quick wink their way despite the obvious worry he expressed towards Minho, and Kibum nodded his head in gratitude, Jonghyun flashing his signature smile before exiting the room.
Kibum couldn’t be more grateful for how good Jonghyun was at reading them all.
He shifted the younger on his lap so that Minho was now straddling him despite the other’s long legs, holding onto the collar of his shirt lightly to pull him in a bit. “Told you they’d be here,” Kibum remarked, one corner of his mouth twisting up in triumph.
Minho huffed, hating being proven wrong. “Yeah, well, whatever,” he replied, frowning with his arms crossed.
The elder of the two bit his bottom lip cautiously, before slowly closing the gap between them both, Minho’s breath warm against his lips as the younger raised his eyebrows, smirking. “How long do you think we have until hyung comes back?” Minho whispered to him.
“Around two minutes maximum.”
A small laugh escaped Minho’s lips. “I think that’ll be enough.”
They paused for a split second before closing the gap, Kibum immediately bringing him up closer so that their chests were touching, one of Minho’s hands curling its way into his hair and the other circling around his back firmly, their mouths expertly moving in a steady rhythm. The embrace was fierce, blood roaring past Kibum’s ears as he melted back into the confines of the couch, his own arms snaking around Minho’s waist tightly.
Minho was breathing heavily through his nose, and after a few moments he tentatively ran his tongue over Kibum’s bottom lip, teeth naturally nipping the skin there, and a soft moan escaped the elder’s mouth, making him smile. He tilted his head back slightly, exposing his neck, and Kibum left a trail of tender kisses along his jawline and towards his crevice, Minho’s eyes slipping half shut at the warm feeling it gave him.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” Jonghyun’s offended voice travelled over to them, the pair stilling and whipping their heads around with sharp flushes painting their cheeks. The elder was stood in the doorway, arms folded and foot tapping in annoyance on the floor, staring at them with a simultaneously irritated and loving look on his face. “I leave you alone for one minute and you’re already making out.”
Behind him, clumped together, was Namjoon and his gang, all with varyingly different looks on their faces. Both Namjoon and Jin seemed a little uncomfortable, like they’d just been the ones caught doing something they shouldn’t instead of it being the other way around. The other four appeared less taken aback- Yoongi sporting a knowing smirk and Hoseok supressing a laugh, the remaining two younger ones not too bothered by Minho and Kibum’s actions.
Finally, squashed in the middle of them all was a timid frame, the six around him acting like personal bodyguards as both Namjoon and Jin kept tight hold on both of his hands.
It was quite a cute sight.
Kibum had the decency to lower his eyes in mild shame, but Minho simply grinned, waving his fingers over at their guests before catching Jonghyun’s gaze. “To be fair, hyung,” he drawled, running his fingers along the bottom of Kibum’s spine slowly, the elder gasping sharply at the touch. “You’re like 80% of our impulse control.”
“So this is my fault?” Jonghyun asked sarcastically.
“Exactly,” Minho replied, ducking behind Kibum’s shoulder with a laugh as Jonghyun threw the nearest pillow he could grasp at him, which promptly ended up hitting Kibum in the face instead.
“Hey!” Kibum yelled indignantly.
Jonghyun smiled triumphantly. “Sorry not sorry.”
“Okay, what is with all the commotion in here?” A new voice joined the fray as Jinki wandered into the living room, raising his eyebrows at his boyfriends once he saw Jonghyun half fuming and Minho sniggering from behind a bewildered Kibum, before smiling stressfully towards their guests. “Namjoon-ah, everyone, I’m glad you could make it under such tight circumstances. I apologise for the late request.”
“No, no! Not at all, hyung! It wasn’t a bother, honestly.” Namjoon looked like he was going to self-combust with how quickly he bowed and waved his hands in front of him, mild embarrassment tinging his cheeks and neck red.
Jinki chuckled, feeling some of the tension evaporate from his own shoulders. “Well, if you’re sure,” he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He never quite knew what to do in these situations- he knew that he was the leader and that the vast majority of people were looking at him to lead the situation, but frankly he was a lot better at formulating mission plans and quotas than everyday conversations.
Instead, he opted on focusing on the reason for their visit, eyes zeroing in on the skinny body wedged in-between the other group. “And you must be Jungkook, then,” he greeted softly, walking forwards and holding out a hand for him to shake.
The boy stared at him apprehensively for a moment, clutching the two hands held within his own tighter than they already were for reassurance, and only when both Namjoon and Jin nodded their heads encouragingly at him did Jungkook offer a timid smile, releasing one hold to return Jinki’s greeting properly. “Yes, Sir,” he murmured, bowing his head politely. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Well, isn’t he just a cutie,” Minho commented from behind them, moving over to wind his arms around Jinki’s waist and gaze down upon the smaller stature of their guest, reaching over to slowly and lightly ruffle his hair. “You’re so polite, too! It’s no wonder the other six seem so enthralled by you.”
Jungkook tilted his head in confusion at the same time as Taehyung swung an immediate hand at Minho’s head, the elder laughing as he ducked behind Jinki (despite inevitably being the taller of the two).
“Can you please not imply that, hyung!” Taehyung whined, a slight pout bubbling from his bottom lip as he crossed his arms in distaste. Kibum attempted (and failed) to supress a chuckle at his reaction.
Minho grinned, dragging Jonghyun over to join in the cuddle session he seemed to have started in the middle of the living room. “I’m terribly sorry,” he drawled out, shaking his head. “It’s just that I’ve never had the opportunity to witness true whipped culture before today.”
At that, a few squawks of protest erupted from the other group, Jin instantly pulling Jungkook back as if protecting him from some unforeseen evil, with Hoseok and Namjoon denying the claim at once, their eyes wide and defensive.
Jinki himself couldn’t help but laugh at the antics, impressed that Minho could reduce their hard and dark persona to a nervous wreck in less than a minute upon entering the threshold, simply by mentioning how utterly gone they were for the teenager in their care. “Whoa, guys, it’s okay,” he reassured, catching a couple of breaths as he tried to placate the situation. “Minho-ah didn’t mean anything by it, he’s just not had guests around for a while.”
At his statement, Minho sighed dramatically. “That’s true. I’ve had to deal with these four idiots being the only company I have for months now.”
“You think you can complain?” Jonghyun muttered to himself, and although it wasn’t meant to be heard, the astute hearing of the other three picked up on it almost straight away, hearts twinging with sorrow and guilt at the drawn in look on his face.
Not wanting Namjoon and the others to pick up on it as well (especially Taehyung as he was rather sensitive to the emotions of those around him, despite his attempt to block them out when he was around more people), Jinki started to rapidly divert their attention somewhere else, for everyone’s benefit. Looking around, he counted the head’s of them all, eyebrows furrowing as he came up one short, prompting him to recount the figures.
“Hey, by the way,” he said, pushing away the very faint stirring of worry in his stomach that appeared whenever one of his own wasn’t accounted for. “Where’s Taemin-ah?”
The other group immediately looked around, also seeming confused at the apparent lack of Jinki’s fifth member, but Jonghyun settled his hands on the eldest’s shoulders, warm eyes forcing their gazes to lock together. “He’s gone to get his pay check- he told us earlier, remember?”
“But that was quite a while ago,” Jinki argued, mentally figuring out the amount of time their youngest had been out, the balls of anxiety rising once he estimated around 56 minutes. “It doesn’t take that long to receive a pay check and come back. What if something’s happened?”
In all honesty, the leader was all prepared to call every contact he had that knew Taemin and request that they go out on a manhunt for the youngest, and Jonghyun (knowing his boyfriend all too well) tutted and shook his head, gripping his shoulders tighter.
“He’s fine, Jinks, trust me. Both me and Kibum-ah have a pretty good intuition, and if something had happened to him, at least one of us would’ve felt it by now.” The other man breathed out heavily. “Besides, it hasn’t been too long, and he may have gone shopping or seen a friend along the way. The kid isn’t stupid, he’d text us if he felt unsafe, so can you please put some faith in him before you overturn the entire city searching.”
Jinki bit his lip, not liking the proposal of doing nothing when his panic levels were stretching into dangerous territory, but the hopeful look in Jonghyun’s eyes, paired with the fact that he knew he was making both Minho and Kibum rather anxious as well, prompted him to trust the other’s words. He nodded his head reluctantly, the bright smile and kiss on the cheek from Jonghyun making the decision appear more appealing by the second.
“Thanks, babe,” Jonghyun whispered quietly in his ear as he hugged him. “I know this is hard for you.” And Jinki hugged back even harder, if only to repress the lingering memories of his lovers’ tears and stoic silence from arising once again.
“What did I tell you?” Minho declared loudly from beside them, grabbing everybody’s attention, and Jonghyun rolled his eyes fondly. The younger simply ignored him, forcefully conjoining himself into the hug. “Impulse control.”
“Oh, piss off,” Jonghyun laughed, giving a playful shove to the younger, and before anyone could react, Jonghyun had Minho pinned on the sofa, mercilessly tickling him whilst Minho howled and tried to shove him off.
Jinki heard Namjoon snort behind him, and when he turned back, he saw most of the other group chuckling to themselves. When Jinki raised an eyebrow in curiosity, Namjoon gave him his signature dimpled smile. “Nobody would guess that gang members do this in their spare time.”
“Touché,” Jinki smirked, choosing to ignore the continuous squeals (Minho insists every time that they’re manly screams) and focused back onto the other group. “I need you and Seokjin to come with me,” he directed at Namjoon, the commanding tone indicating the serious nature of the request, and even though they all gave him a moderately confused look, they nodded all the same, choosing not to ask any questions just yet.
A click of the front door shutting could barely be heard above all the chaos, and so only the slow waft of food entering everybody’s noses, simultaneously swivelling multiple heads in that direction, indicated Taemin’s eventual, ungodly return.
Taemin himself grinned at them all when they saw him, waving at the newcomers with one hand and holding up a large plastic bag in the other. “I got ddukbokkie,” he announced, signalling a quiet whoop from Hoseok.
Jinki, however, marched over to the younger, not giving any indication of his actions until he grappled him into a tight hug, one of Taemin’s arms coming up to return it almost instantly despite the initial puzzlement. “Where have you been?” he mumbled into the fabric of Taemin’s shirt.
Taemin pulled back, cocking his head to the side dubiously, lifting the plastic bag up once more. “Ddukbokkie,” he stated as if it was obvious, and Jinki groaned.
“But why did it take so long?” he pressed, the nervous ache from moments before returning with a vengeance.
Taemin scoffed. “You try walking all the way to work to pick up a pay check, then go and order food for twelve people, only to walk all the way back!” he argued, laughing to himself. “I wasn’t really in the mood to run, you know.”
“Jinks,” Jonghyun warned from behind, and when he circled back, he found the man’s cautioning stare and his eyebrows raised expectantly. “What did we just talk about?”
Looking back and forth between the two, he took a moment before sighing, grasping one last hug from Taemin before nodding, actively pushing away the negative emotions. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll stop, I promise.” He then released the youngest, who squeezed his hand sweetly before rushing over to Minho and Jonghyun, dishing out the vast amount of ddukbokkie he’d bought and passing the pay check he’d received over to Kibum.
Jinki faced their guests, beckoning to the two who were still holding tightly onto Jungkook once more, a soft smile gracing his features. “Jin, Namjoon, if you will,” he said. Their lips turned up in response, humming to show they’d heard and shuffled to address their youngest, the others already having moved to join those near the sofa with the prospect of food.
Jin caught Jungkook’s face within his palms and lifted his gaze up so that they were eyelevel with each other. Namjoon’s fingers rooted on the youngest’s shoulders provided an added sense of comfort and safety, Jungkook feeling less tense as Jin spoke to him.
“We’ll only be gone for a few minutes, Kookie, alright?” he said warmly, giving one cheek a gentle stroke with his thumb affectionally. “I promise that we’ll come back as quick as we can and then all of us can cuddle before bed, yeah? Does that sound alright?”
Jungkook nodded his head, a tiny smile growing on his face despite the clenching of his hands.
“Hey,” Namjoon reassured, squeezing the nape of the youngest’s neck lovingly. “It’s okay to be nervous, Kook. This is a new environment for you, so if anything I’d be worried if you weren’t a little scared of us wandering off without you.”
Another nod was given, Jungkook’s voice becoming lodged deep within his throat at the prospect of meeting so many new people alone. “Taehyung will help introduce you,” the leader continued, practically reading his thoughts (after the nightmare fiasco, Jungkook began to wonder if he had), but simmering his worries down for the time being.
“Just stick with your hyungs and you’ll be fine, sweetheart,” Jin tacked on, but his shimmering eyes betrayed his uneasiness. “If you have any issues or just feel too uncomfortable, shout for us or get one of the others to come and get us, okay? We’ll just be down the hall.”
“Okay, hyung,” Jungkook finally murmured, a minor frown painting his lips, however his skin was tinged pink with the doting words used by the two elders.
“Promise?” Namjoon asked, drawing his gaze once more.
Jungkook nodded firmly. “I promise, Joonie-hyung.”
Jin grinned, ruffling the youngest’s hair adoringly before planting a light kiss on his forehead, Namjoon following suit, making Jungkook scrunch up his nose like a rabbit (a habit they all relished).
Jinki thought the sight was endearing, although it was made more so when he overheard Minho’s quiet laugh from across the room and a silent whisper of, “See, so whipped,” sent in their direction, erupting a chorus of giggles from the group.
“All right, come on Kookie!” Taehyung yelled cheerfully, bounding over and pulling the younger out from the others’ grasp, his box smile contagious and encouraging a grin to spread across Jungkook’s face as Tae dragged him towards the rest of the residents, ready to make sure that everybody knew each other to at least friendship level by the end of the night.
The ddukbokkie had already been split, three servings set to the side in advance, and Jungkook wedged himself between Jimin and Yoongi with Taehyung plonking down against Hoseok, already dashing for his chopsticks to tuck in.
“Okay!” Tae announced, enthusiasm overflowing in his rich voice. “So, Kookie, this here is Minho-hyung, he is very tall and despite his deep caring nature for others, he also really enjoys making out with people as you probably saw from earlier…”
And that was Jinki’s cue to leave, shaking his head with a breathy laugh as he heard Taehyung squawk when Minho thwacked him, striding away with Namjoon and Jin blindly following his footsteps after a final fleeting glance at the circle of people sat in the dining room.
He led Jin and Namjoon away from the noise the others were making, swiftly turning towards the room marked ‘Private’ at the end of the downstairs hallway. He could decipher from their stiff posture that they were both quite confused and unsure about why he’d pulled them out so early into their visit, but knew better than to ask questions when he’d properly explain once they were away from any listening ears.
Once they reached the doorway, Jinki halted however, licking his lips apprehensively and turning his head to peer back at the two. “You aren’t going to like what I’m about to show you,” he warned quietly, forcing himself to meet their gazes as he saw their immediate concerned faces. “But I need you to swear to me that you’ll remain quiet and allow me to speak.”
Jin was the first to snap out of his stupor, shaking his head slightly, eyebrows raised. “Why exactly did you take us two specifically?” he asked cautiously. Honestly, Jin had found it strange the moment Jinki had requested it, because normally when the missions were delivered, it was to Namjoon and Yoongi, Hoseok occasionally joining them if their was a lot of information to take down. And so, the fact that he was here and not Yoongi meant that whatever Jinki knew- it most definitely was not for all to hear.
“We are here to accept another job, right?” Namjoon pitched in, his deep voice hinting a touch of cold wariness, and Jin had to force himself not to flinch at the dark tone that was dripping in.
“Yes, and no,” Jinki replied with an equal amount of force. It was fascinating to watch the two leaders stare each other down, almost like this was the beginning of a wolf fight and they were squaring each other off. Jin, however, could see past the tough exterior, knowing the two friends were merely conveying their twisted version of concern for the other. “I did call you all over so that I could deliver the new mission, one that requires your specific skillset, and I will be going through that with you tomorrow, so do not worry.”
The eldest suddenly took a long, laboured breath, appearing troubled. “However, I also need to discuss your newest charge. Obviously, I need him here to finalise his forms, and after you mentioned him also having an ability whilst we spoke on the phone, I figured we could also use this time to attempt to find out what that is, and possibly how it could be harnessed to our advantage in the future.”
Jin squinted from the choice of words, not liking how Jungkook was already slowly being dragged into their jobs without him even being consulted, or how it started to feel like they were simply using him for whatever his ability indeed was, especially after seeing its strength first hand that first day.
Jungkook deserved better- better than this, better than them- but the elder also knew that this was inevitably their life, and since Jungkook had decided to stay with them, he was bound to become involved at least a little bit at some point, one way or another, from the very moment Hoseok, Yoongi and Taehyung had decided to bring him back with them.
Jin just hoped that they could shield him from the majority of their life- no matter what his ability turned out to be. Jungkook deserved that, in the least, after all he’d been through.
“However,” Jinki continued, steeling his voice for the words ahead, and the other two subconsciously tensed in trepidation. “There is one more thing that concerns Jungkook, that I felt you two, at least, should be made aware of.” Namjoon nodded his head to signal him to continue as he steeled himself. “After reading your report, Joon, on the previous mission you conducted, and learning of the abusive nature the target clearly displayed, I had Kibum and Minho do one final search of the house before I tied off all the loose ends to avoid suspicion.”
As he said this, Jinki twirled away from them and carefully opened the door into the room, only allowing enough space for the two to fit through one at a time, and gestured for them to enter.
They did so slowly, if only to try and settle the racing nerves flying beneath their skin, and after they were all inside Jinki shut the entrance closed once again, gesturing to the object that had instantly caught the other two’s attention. “Kibum found this stashed behind one of the hollow walls, and thought it necessary to bring back so I could decide the necessary action to take.”
Placed on top of the wooden table in the centre of the room, was a square metal box. The dim light from above shone down upon it, luminating the firm steel and what appeared to be a small hook attached to one side, similar to those one would connect a chain to. When Jin inspected closer, moving around slightly, he noticed a slit riding directly down the entire middle of the container, coming to an end at the bottom where a medium sized hole had been carved into the surface of the box.
If he was being completely honesty, Jin didn’t quite understand, not being involved in the gang for as long as some of his boyfriends had, and so hadn’t been exposed to the varying ways of how truly sadistic some people could be.
Namjoon, on the other hand, looked sick.
“I don’t think I’m following,” Jin said carefully, gaze flicking between the two people in the room. “What exactly is it?”
Jinki opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Namjoon made a quiet, distorted choking sound, snapping everyone’s attention to him. “It’s a head box,” he ground out, head facing the floor.
Now, there were many devices that Jin had heard of, many he’d seen first-hand in fact, but a head box was not one that was stored in his personal inventory.
His face must have betrayed his confusion, because Namjoon merely sighed, suddenly looking a lot older than he actually was, and went to lift up the box after a simple confirmation nod from the eldest. “This hole here,” he sighed, referencing to the circular carving, voice deeper than normal in resignation. “Is where the person’s head goes. You open it up like this-" Namjoon demonstrated as he went, heaving apart the two sides which the slit separated, before shifting it and clamping it shut once more, “-direct it around the person’s head, and shut it closed over them, effectively trapping their head within the box. It blocks out all light, and most people who’ve been subjected to it typically tend to experience claustrophobia on a higher level than your average person. From what I’ve seen, at least.”
Jin gulped back the faint sense of bile in his throat, blinking rapidly. “And you’re saying… that this thing was used on Kookie? Our Jungkook?”
Jinki grimaced sympathetically, but hummed in agreement all the same. “I believe so,” he replied, treading over and delicately removed the box from Namjoon’s stiff hands, placing it back down onto the table. “I’m unsure as to how many times it was used, but after understanding what this particular device is for, I felt that it was best that you both know the extent of which Jungkook has gone through. I know the six of you will take care of him well regardless, however I wished to provide some insight, in the least, as a way of help.”
Namjoon’s green face from earlier no longer seemed inappropriate, Jin himself now struggling to fully control the vicious swirling inside his stomach, the mere thought of Jungkook (sweet, kind, innocent Jungkook) having to go through all of that alone- withstand such traumatic hardship and yet still come out kicking- was filling him with a strange sense of conjoined dread and pride.
A large, sturdy hand slid into his own, Namjoon’s soft skin a reassurance against the upsetting waves threatening to crash over him, and Jin finally managed to give a weak smile to his boyfriend. “We’re going to help him, right?” he whispered fretfully.
“We are,” Namjoon confirmed with a squeeze of the palm, his sudden calm demeanour and voice working wonders to settle the disconnected thoughts roaming inside his head, but then again, it always did.
“Good,” Jinki responded, pulling their attention back to him. “Actually, you can return to them all now if you’d like. I was going to go through the new job I have for you tomorrow anyway once everybody is properly settled in.” The eldest smiled kindly, his hands stuffed into his pockets, looking slightly uncomfortable again when the other two bowed to him.
“Thank you, Jinki-hyung,” Namjoon replied, dimples returning to his cheeks despite the minor agitation present from waiting for a sign that it was okay for them to go. “I appreciate you telling us about this.”
“So we can leave now?” Jin asked, eyes darting to the entrance with hopeful eyes. Jinki simply laughed more, shoulders shaking a little.
“I already said yes! Go,” he ushered, shooing them out of the door, following at a slower pace as he watched Jin practically drag Namjoon away at a terrifying speed. He knew that if the tables were flipped, he’d be moving just as quickly as they were; if he found out that any of his boyfriends had been subjected to that level of torture, there probably wouldn’t be much of the city left once his rage had settled.
With that thought, he found his feet quickening to join the others, welcoming the sight of Namjoon back-hugging a bewildered Jungkook with Jin latching onto his hand, the remainder of their group merely sitting there half amused and half confused themselves, however merely shrugging to themselves as if this was normal behaviour for them.
Jinki himself dropped down beside Kibum, the younger instantly leaning closer into him with one leg already draped lazily across Jonghyun’s lap. Taemin grinned from his other side, eyes crinkling and soft black hair flopping down against his forehead, making Jinki want to reach over and brush it back with his hand.
Except now he’d practically accepted most of Kibum’s weight, a portion of ddukbokkie thrust into his hands from Taemin, and his two youngest boyfriends struck back up their conversation with Hoseok, leaving him unable to do anything besides from eat his dinner before bed and watch it all happen.
Tomorrow was most likely going to be hectic, with planning and a much-needed proper conversation with Jungkook ahead of them, but for now Jinki was quite content with fondly watching Jonghyun play with Kibum’s fingers, drawing random patterns and shapes into his skin, and allow the sleepy feeling to roll over him as he ate, chasing away the last of his worries.
Tomorrow was another time.
A harsh scream piercing the air jolted everybody awake.