J-hope a.k.a Jung Hoseok

The Wild Child

For a start, Hoseok was a horse. Nope, nothing else, maybe save for an extremely scaredy-cat side of him that he might or might not have shown to the cameras. On shows, his terrified screaming was tolerable compared to what he did at home.

Oh Jung Hoseok, the cool rapper and dancer. He was in fact, terrified of almost anything and everything. He was afraid of insects, afraid of overly hyper people (the irony) and afraid of (strange) food. Yes food, Seokjin’s forte. That could explain his sheer drive to make Hoseok less of a picky and whiny eater.

Well, it was a sunny day.

The sky was too blue for Seokjin’s liking, but being able to finally cook for the others made up for it. It was one of those rare days that their schedule ended somewhere in the early afternoon and everybody was too lazy to go out.

 Seokjin had suggested for all of them to watch a movie together but Jimin had already run to his room to crash out. Without much needing to be said, Yoongi followed suit. Well, there went their chance at team bonding.

It was alright though, Seokjin could cook in peace.

The afternoon went by lazily and the summer heat wafted through the kitchen as if the heat from the stove was not enough. Seokjin felt so drowsy that for once, he could not find any faults in Yoongi’s argument that afternoon naps were essential for one’s wellbeing.

Slowly but surely, the hot ball of fire on the horizon dipped. It was just about time as Seokjin had also finished cooking.

You see, one of the pros (or cons, your picking) of staying with each other for their entire teenage years was the development of sixth senses for each other. Hence, when Seokjin had not even taken off his apron, two curious faces had already poked their noses through the kitchen doorway.

Today, they were Jimin and Hoseok. On some days it would have been the entire maknae line when they were extremely hungry. Then on other rare occasions, it would be Yoongi standing by the doorway, making short comments about the night’s menu.

“Fried rice? Mixed vegetable soup?” Jimin asked eagerly. Seokjin was very tempted to comb through the bird nest of the younger’s hair to make it neater. Nevertheless, he nodded and Jimin immediately bounced into the kitchen to help bring out the dishes.

Hoseok helped to bring out the soup last, but Seokjin could already feel nervousness radiating from him as the other held the pot gingerly by the rims. A small sigh escaped his lips as Seokjin watched Hoseok place the pot on the table.

So he still doesn’t like water cress.

One by one, the members began dragging their bodies to the table from whatever hole they had crawled out from and by the time everyone was gathered, Seokjin had little space in his mind to worry about Hoseok.

Having to constantly be on the lookout for six other people is energy consuming. Seokjin assumed that everyone in the group would have experienced those times at different places. Yoongi at the recording studio, Hoseok and Jimin at dance studios, Jungkook and Taehyung at vocal practices, Namjoon… Well he was on lookout 24/7 being the leader.

For Seokjin, it was making sure that everyone had enough rest, enough to eat and always, pushing the others to try their best at anything but always careful to not throw them over the ledge at the same time.

Dinner was hence a busy business.

He had to make sure Namjoon did not break anything, or that Taehyung did not steal pieces of meat from Yoongi’s plate, or… Making sure Hoseok ate enough. Seokjin eyed the other from his side of the table between mouthfuls of rice

Dinner had gone well so far. Small but enlightening talks were made about the fan meet they had attended the day before and Namjoon passed information about the preparations for their upcoming album which got the table into a frenzy – New albums were always an interesting business.

New concepts, new themes, new songs, new stages and new dances, they all determined whether their next comeback stage would garner enough votes to win the trophy.

Amidst all of the excitement, only Hoseok seemed rather out of it, his attention all on the plate of rice in front of him. He took small bites and made almost no talk even though when the conversation turned into the area of the new choreography, which was really unlikely of him.

Just as he was about to ask Hoseok if he was feeling unwell, Taehyung suggested, “Hey, guys. You want to go watch something?” “Good idea,” Jimin quipped, “Animation or live action?” An uproar of voices washed over the table after the question before Seokjin could attest to it. They rejected his offer only this afternoon and now they want to watch?

“How to train your dragon! I haven’t watched part two!”

“Mission Impossible?”

“Mockingjay Part 2!”

“The Heirs!”

“Back to 20!”

“A Game of Thrones,” Namjoon said calmly. Jungkook turned to look at him with a half-curious stare and asked, “What’s that?” Seokjin raised an eyebrow at the man sitting beside him. “It’s a show about four great houses and the fight for the throne,” Namjoon answered without hesitance, oblivious to Seokjin’s expression on his face.

“There’s a lot of-” Seokjin tapped his finger against the sides of the bowl impatiently as he glared sternly at the other. Namjoon closed his gaping mouth in mid speech with an awkward cough after catching the glare, “-of… Nothing. Nothing.”

Content that nothing more had slipped out of the other’s mouth, Seokjin made a small ‘hmpf’ and leaned back onto the backrest of the chair.

To his left, Yoongi and Jimin scoffed quietly in amusement. A tiny smile made its way across Hoseok’s face.

The argument over what to watch and they finally decided on Mission Impossible (Yoongi was undeniably happy about it). After a few squabbles over each other’s portions of fried rice and the precious side dish of kimchi, most of them made it over to the living room and crashed on the couch.

Well most of them, since Seokjin pulled Hoseok aside.

Namjoon whispered something into Hoseok’s ear which Seokjin knew all too well was, “Good luck bro.” With an unamused glance cast in the other’s way, Namjoon then moved away quickly with wide eyes of feigned innocence.

After everyone else was settled comfortably on the couches, Seokjin turned towards Hoseok who was having the look of a child getting caught in the act. “You need to eat more vegetables, Hobi.”

“But I don’t like them…” Hoseok muttered.

Seokjin crossed his arms and reasoned in reply, “You also didn’t like sashimi. Then you liked it.” Hoseok’s eyes fluttered upwards in defence upon hearing that. “That was before they-” Seokjin squinted his eyes suspiciously and Hoseok pursed his lips shut without another word.

“Before they… What?”

“Nothing.”

“Do I really have to use rule number five on you?”

“No…”

“Or number seven?”

Irritation flashed across Hoseok’s face as he retorted, “Namjoon wrote all of that years ago.” “And he’s still the leader. Rules still apply,” Seokjin answered. Softening his expression, he continued, “You need to stop being scared of trying, Hoseok. What did you say happened?”

Hoseok looked all the more like a child getting chided by a parent.

“Nothing… It’s just that um… Some fans may or may not have tried putting stuff into my food.”

Silence.

“What?”

“It’s nothing, hyung.”

“Nothing?! What, nothing?! Why didn’t you tell anyone?! Holy Hoseok!”

“Hyung it’s okay-”

“It’s not okay! God you’ve been spending too much time with Joon!”

Namjoon shouted from the couch area, “Don’t drag me into this!” “Can you be more caring? You’re the freaking leader, Joon!” Seokjin yelled back indignantly. Oh god was that why Hoseok had this constant fear?

“What can I do? He didn’t tell me anything!” the leader retorted in frustration as he looked away from the television screen at Seokjin. Seokjin returned his unamused look with an angry one.

Suddenly, the light in Namjoon’s eyes flickered as if an idea struck him. Gee, Seokjin wondered what that smart brain of his had come up with. To his surprise, the ends of Namjoon’s lips curved upwards in amusement.

Then Seokjin realised that the others had stopped watching the television and had their gazes fixed on the three of them.

“Did they fall out again?” Jungkook asked in a bored tone as he stuffed a sweet into his mouth. Expression not changing, he commented while staring at Hoseok, “Oh never mind. I see what’s happening.” Then Jimin began laughing in a high pitched voice – the one reserved for really hilarious jokes. Either that or he was really happy.

“What?” Seokjin asked cautiously. When Yoongi cracked a smile that he tried miserably to hide behind a cushion, his they-did--again radar began pinging loudly in his mind. Namjoon said finally, “I must admit, your acting skills have gotten good.”

It took Seokjin a while to register that Namjoon was talking to Hoseok. Spinning around to face the dancer, he raised an eyebrow questioningly at the said man.

“What is going on?”

The only answer was the chorus of laughter that burst out from the others like soda out of a rigorously shaken can, including Hoseok who fell onto the tiled floor screeching his signature screeching laughter. Taehyung yelled out in excitement, “Oh my god Hobi hyung! That was really good!”

Namjoon added cheerfully, “Hoseok I’m going make sure you get the lead role in the next MV.” Seokjin stared in confusion at the literally rolling on the floor figure of Hoseok. What was happening?

The volume of their laughter increased twice-fold upon the emergence of his puzzled look and Seokjin could hear Jimin wheezing hard at a corner.

“Honestly, Jin hyung,” Jungkook said matter-of-factly while trying to keep a straight face, “You should be really proud of Hobi hyung.” Seeing Hoseok giggle hard on the ground made Seokjin think doubly hard.

Is this all a prank? He looked so for real-

Oh.

Oh.

Suddenly all the laughter sounded like static to Seokjin’s ears and he crossed his arms quietly, straightening his back. He glanced at the other members with a glamour of calm though he was sure to make sure that the entire space could feel his simmering anger.

Sure enough, everyone quieted down in a matter of seconds.

Taehyung whispered under his breath as he looked down at his empty plate, “Mum’s going super saiyan.” Jungkook elbowed the older in the ribs to quieten him.

When the apartment was silent enough to hear a pin drop (save for the still running movie), Seokjin smiled and said, “Thank you.”

“He’s really going super saiyan.”

“Shut up Tae.”

The smile melted off Seokjin’s face soon after and he looked pointedly at the other five people. “All of you. Back inside. Now,” he growled.

Without another word, the younger members got up in a flash before disappearing into their respective rooms. Namjoon shot Hoseok an empathetic look as he walked by.

“Yoongi I know you like to watch the world burn but get. Back. In. Now. And did you think that you’re tiny enough to hide under the cushions? Back. Now.”

Grumbling under his breath, the rapper threw away the multiple pillows that had been covering his body back onto the couch and proceeded to stumble back into their shared room.

“Great, now it’s just us,” Seokjin hummed, glaring at Hoseok who was now standing up. He inched away slowly as if he were standing on a field planted with mines. “What are you going to do to me?” Hoseok gulped.

Seokjin tapped his foot in a slow rhythm on the floor as he answered, “Nothing much.”

“Really?”

“It’s nothing much to me, but it means a lot to you. A whole lot.”

Both of them looked at the still warm soup on the table at the same time and Hoseok’s face blanched in record time.

“Mum reaaaaaally-”

“Yes.”

Seriously Hobi it’s for your own good.