Ever since the group had debuted, it had been Jimin, Jungkook, and J-hope on the dance line. The three spent unbelievable amounts of time together in order to keep their skills sharp, and as a result, the three grew close. Although it was apparent in small moments that Jungkook felt more comfortable with Jimin than Hoseok at the beginning. The lead dancer would watch as the two sat beside each other during breaks; and despite the fact, Jungkook tried to keep up the pretense of hating physical contact when Jimin poked him cheeks or hugged him from behind the boy never really pushed him off.

Hoseok chalked it up to the age difference, as the kid tended to act the same around all the other hyungs older than Taehyung and Jimin. And as time passed, they all grew closer and Jungkook became more comfortable with them; eventually, he was even joining in with Hoseok during some of his antics for the camera. Jungkook started coming to the lead dancer for advice and help when he struggled with a particular move, and Hoseok was more than happy to spend time with the maknae.

However a couple months ago something changed; Hoseok wasn’t sure what, but he knew that he didn’t like it. What once had been Jungkook and his weekly dance session, which often just turned into them laughing together on the floor, had suddenly stopped. Whenever Hoseok asked about it, the boy just avoided the questions and said that the choreographer was pulling him for extra practice.

Pushing away his disappointment at the answer, Hoseok tried to remember that Jungkook probably had no choice in the matter. Although why he needed the extra practice was beyond him. Jungkook had been dancing more precisely than ever before, and if Hoseok didn’t know better, he’d think that the boy had something to prove; but J-hope knew the rest of the members never doubted Jungkook’s ability, he wasn’t called the golden maknae for nothing.

Hoseok didn’t even really start to feel like something was really wrong until a couple weeks ago. Hoseok had finally gotten Jungkook to come dancing with him again; Jimin had been invited too but was off helping Tae with some errands. So Jungkook and Hoseok walked at a leisurely pace towards the dance studio, the latter a little frustrated as all his attempts to make Jungkook laugh had ended in failure; which was becoming a more and more common personality trait of the maknae.

“Jungkook-ahh, please smile!” Hoseok half-whined, clinging lightly to the boy’s arm, not noticing the flinch from the sudden touch.

“Hyung not right now,” Jungkook replied pulling his arm away from Hoseok with a little more force than intended due to panic. He knew that the dancer would never hurt him on purpose, but he needed space.

Meanwhile, Hoseok watched him walk ahead, a frown marring his features, Yah, when did Jeon Jungkookie get so serious. Following after the boy, the duo rapidly approached the studio. Hoseok watched, confused, as Jungkook hesitated outside the door, before pushing in and looking over the room as if looking for someone.

“Expecting someone else?” Hoseok teased, setting his bag down by the wall, with Jungkook following suit.

“No, just surprised it’s empty,” he replied with a shrug, then started stretching. Hoseok settled down beside him and started stretching his legs, watching enviously as Jungkook grabbed the soles of his feet while Hoseok struggled just to touch his toes. The two continued in semi-comfortable silence as they stretched, the wall clock ticking quietly in the background. Finally, Jungkook laid back and took a deep breath before pulling himself up to his feet.

“Ready Hyung?” He asked, reaching out a hand to help Hoseok up.

“I’m always ready, the real question is are you ready?” Hoseok replied, grinning as he walked over to the stereo that rested on the far left of the studio. “Which era? I’ll let you choose since it’s been a while and you’ll need whatever advantage you can get.”

Jungkook smirked a little at the challenge, “Let’s start from the beginning, not that it matters hyung; I think in an hour you’ll be the one struggling to keep up.”

Hitting the play button, the first chords of No More Dream began to fill the room, and the two got in position, prepared to battle till the end. For the next half hour, the music played non-stop, working its way through all their songs with choreography. When Tomorrow started, the two were soaked in sweat and panting heavily. Hoseok let his eyes roam over Jungkook in the mirror, the kid had gotten one thing right; it certainly looked like Hoseok was going to be the first one to call a break if only to stop Jungkook from dying of heatstroke or dehydration. The maknae had sweat dripping from his hair, and was still clothed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and despite his heavy breathing, his face showed no sign of strain.

As the last notes of the song faded, Hoseok broke his final pose to pause the music, “You got me this time Jungkookie, but just wait till we start up again, no more playing easy.”

“That’s what you think hyung,” Jungkook replied, forcing the words out amongst his heavy breathing as he sat on the floor. Things were silent for a moment, and Hoseok moved to sit beside him.

“Hey, Kook,” Hoseok said, causing Jungkook to open his eyes that had drifted close and look at him.

“Yeah hyung?” Jungkook replied, watching him a little warily now that he seemed to caught on to the more serious tone.

“You’d tell one of us if something was bothering you, right? Even if wasn’t something big, we like to know you’re okay.” Hoseok spoke, looking directly at Jungkook, who turned away from him to stare at the ceiling.

“Yeah, of course. But nothing’s wrong hyung, I promise.” The words sounded reassuring, and while part of Hoseok was comforted another part of him froze at the way Kookie’s voice had pitched at the end. Surely he wasn’t lying, he wouldn’t do that, would he? But once the thought took root, it was all Hoseok could think about. He started watching the maknae more closely when he was around to try and find the source of his problem.

It wasn’t until another week had passed that he had an idea of what was wrong.