A/N. Hi guys!! I'm finally back!
I'm sorry for the long wait :'(
It was so crazy, with exam week and Easter break and family and guests and everything else, that I didn't have time to write...
Please excuse all the irregular updates... Either I write a lot in a really short time, or I don't have the time to write for a looooong time! Sorry :(
But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
I'm in spain now, on a short holiday before school starts again. It's lovely here.

P.S. I'm running out of lyrics from Smells like Teen Spirit to use as chapter titles!! @.@

The sun rose on the Institute.

Jimin opened his eyes slowly. His lids felt like they were glued down, and he struggled to lift them. Slowly, the room came into focus. He blinked a few times, eyes scrunched up against the morning light, as he examined the room he was in. He recognised it immediately: it was the infirmary of the Institute. But why was he there? He frowned. He didn't remember much: he recalled fighting back-to-back with Taehyung, and a burning feeling in his chest and in his arms, the knowledge that they were losing the fight suffocating him. The memory of a steely-eyed Yoongi vaulting over a table and slicing through the demon that had been about to impale him with its claw suddenly popped up in his confused mind, and he gasped slightly, his upper body lifting slightly off the bed as he tensed. Yoongi had been there; Hobi hyung and Solar noona, too - bright, disjointed memories flooded through his mind, and he fell back against his pillow. He'd passed out, he now realised. One of the beasts had managed to get past his guard and had bitten deep into his arm during the fight, and once the fight was over and he'd allowed himself to relax, the pain and the dizziness had become too much for him and the room had gone dark. He glanced down at his arm. There wasn't even the hint of a scar on it, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. His eyes travelled further down his arm to his hand, and he blinked in surprise. There was someone's hand holding it, a pale, long- hand that dwarfed his own plump, child like fingers. He trailed his gaze up the unknown person's hand, following the curve of the arm lying on the sheets, to a mop of messy blond hair half buried in the crook of his other arm. His breath hitched. What was Yoongi doing here?his mind babbled in confusion, a heavy blush rushing up his neck and spreading across his face. The hand holding his twitched and Jimin froze as the older boy let out a tired grunt and raised his head a little. Hooded, sleepy black eyes met wide, slightly panicked brown ones and both boys froze.

"Jimin!" Yoongi gasped, eyes widening, suddenly wide awake. "You're awake, thank the Angel!" He started looking over him hurriedly. "Does anything hurt? Can you move your arms properly? Do you feel dizzy or faint?"

"I-I'm fine," Jimin stuttered, blushing heavily. He paused, then glanced at Yoongi, curious. "Did you stay by my side all this time, Yoongi hyung?" he asked shyly, ducking his head slightly in embarassment.

Yoongi's pale cheeks turned pink, his eyes darting away and losing their confidence, glancing at everything but the curious younger Shadowhunter. "Yah, what are you saying, of course not," he stammered, not meeting Jimin's eyes. "I just took over from Taehyung last night cuz the kid really needed some sleep."

"Oh," Jimin answered softly, heart sinking slightly. Of course Yoongi hyung wouldn't have done that, what was he thinking? He was just happy that the elder had cared enough about him to even offer to take Tae's place. He knew how important sleep was to him.

Meanwhile, Yoongi cursed himself silently as he glared at the bedsheets. Stupid, stupid. Why couldn't he have just said "Of course, dummy," or given just a simple "yes"? A soft hand squeezed his, and his head snapped up, locking eyes with his longtime crush. Jimin smiled at him brightly, eyes crinkling happily. "Thanks anyway for staying by my side, hyung," he chirped, and Yoongi blushed hotly. Jimin smiled at the sight, heart racing as he blushed as well.

Their little moment was broken by the doors crashing open. Taehyung appeared in a pikachu onesie, sleepy eyed but determined, and marched over to the bed, declaring loudly, "There, I've slept six whole hours, hyung. Now scoot, it's my turn to hold Jiminnie's hand-" he broke off, finally registering the fact that his Parabatai was sitting up, awake and healthy, and grinning at him. He let out a deafening squeal, launching himself forward and smothering his best friend in a bone crushing hug. "Chimchim!!" he sobbed loudly, covering his face with sloppy wet kisses. "I thought you were dead!!" He pulled away slightly, pouting through his tears. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Jimin just laughed, pulling Taehyung back in for a warm hug. Heads poked through the door, attracted by Taehyung's scream. Hoseok, his wild bed hair standing up all over the place, grinned when he realised Jimin had woken up, and bounded in to throw himself onto the hug pile. Jungkook, looking confused and disorientated, stumbled in and stood slightly apart, rubbing his sleepy eyes with a fist. Seokjin was next, rushing in in all his pink pyjama-d glory, almost sobbing in relief as he tore the two other boys away from his beloved dongsaeng to crush him in yet another bear hug. The four girls appeared together, hair messy and in varying stages of undress. Solar was in her workout clothes, hair pulled up in a ponytail and sweaty from her morning run. Wheein and Hwasa were in matching pyjamas, hair disheveled, and Moonbyul wore her favourite tattered old t-shirt with football shorts. The three girls had arrived late the night before and their fatigue was clear in their yawns and dark circles, but they were still delighted to find Jimin conscious and bounded over to fuss over the boy.

"Guys, guys," Jimin laughed, as he found himself surrounded by loud, fussy busybodies who squabbled over who got to be closest to him. "Don't fight, there's plenty of me to go around." In the end, he found himself squished between Hoseok and Taehyung who insisted on squeezing onto the cot with him, while Yoongi sat at the foot of the bed, a comforting hand on Jimin's ankle. The girls clustered around the bed, and Seokjin stood next to the headboard, anxiously checking whether he still had a fever or not. Jungkook had ventured closer, wary and shy of so many new people, and now hovered next to the bed, unsure of where to stand. Jimin noticed him, and cocked his head, curious about the unknown face.

"Hello," he called softly, while Taehyung and Hoseok bickered about the other taking up too much space next to him. Jungkook startled, blushing red as the attention of the whole room turned to him. "What's your name?"

"J-Jungkook," he stammered, fiddling with his the sleeves of his loose grey sweater.

"Hi, Jungkook," Jimin smiled warmly, completely taken by the adorable younger boy. "You must be the new recruit Jin hyung brought from the Shadowhunter Academy. I'm Jimin. It's nice to finally meet you." Yoongi frowned slightly as he noticed Jimin's affectionate gaze, but didn't comment. The girls were just as taken as Jimin was, cooing over the new boy's red cheeks and bunny teeth. Wheein pulled Jungkook closer to the group, flashing him a friendly grin.

"Hey, Jungkook, my name is Wheein, and that's my boyfriend Hoseok," she introduced herself, pointing to Hoseok who grinned and gave a little wave. "This is my parabatai Hwasa," she added, nudging the short haired girl next to her. Hwasa smiled and wiggled her fingers at him. "And this is-"

"Solar, we already met," Yongsun supplied, nodding at Jungkook. "You already know Seokjin, my brother. And this-" she gestured towards the tall boy in the pikachu onesie, "-is my idiot little brother Taehyung. He's the one that got us all into this mess." Taehyung pouted, but her light tone made it clear she was joking, and he settled for whining like a wounded puppy as the others all laughed. Jungkook examined the last member of the group, marvelling at his good looks. Now that he knew Seokjin, Yongsun and Taehyung were family, he could see that the siblings all possessed otherworldly beauty, standing out from the others. The other Shadowhunters were all attractive in their own way, but those three really stood out. Taehyung was especially attractive, he decided, blushing slightly as he noticed that the other had a peculiar, box-shaped smile. Cute, he thought distractedly. He also wondered about the Pikachu outfit. He'd discovered from his time at the Shadowhunter Academy that the Nephilim didn't have the best knowledge of mundane culture and popular icons, so he was surprised and delighted that Taehyung actually knew about Pikachu. He wondered if he also knew about other mangas or animes, and filed the question away to ask him later on.

Meanwhile, he was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable under the burning glare he could feel boring into his side. What was the blond dude's problem with him? He shifted uncomfortably. The guy was smallish, but his scary aura gave the impression of someone not to be messed with and if looks could kill, Jungkook would have long been buried six feet under by now. Apart from that one guy, though, the others seemed quite welcoming, smiling at him in a friendly, affectionate manner. It still astounded him, how some people could act like they were your friends a mere 5 seconds after your first meeting. It put him on his guard, since he knew from experience that it wasn't that easy. Friends left all the time; he had no friends. He would let them believe they were, if they wanted to, but for him, no one deserved the title of friend until they had proved themselves to be worthy of it. The one person who came anywhere close to being considered a friend by Jeon Jungkook was Yugyeom, his roommate back in the Shadowhunter Academy. Yugyeom had been his constant companion throughout the whole program, even letting him wear his clothes and share his belongings since Jungkook had nothing to his name. When they'd graduated, he'd left with a promise to keep in touch, travelling to L.A. with a laid back guy named Mark something. To Jungkook, Yugyeom was a sort of experiment: in the beginning, he had been hesitant about the whole Shadowhunter thing, and was afraid to start letting himself feel too comfortable. He couldn't afford to make friends if this didn't work out and he ended up running for it like he always ran from uncomfortable situations. When he found out the reason for his roommate's coldness, Yugyeom told him that he could try treating the whole thing as an experiment of sorts. He could try letting Yugyeom become his friend, and see if it worked out. If it didn't, then fine. He didn't have to make any more friends and could just leave whenever he wanted to. But if it did, and he started to trust Yugyeom even slightly, he wasn't allowed to lie to himself and leave. It was a strange arrangement, but it had worked. Above all, Jungkook was not a liar - he couldn't even lie to himself. Yugyeom had noticed this and used it against him, forcing him to acknowledge his feelings. More than once, Jungkook had been prevented from leaving by his promise to his fellow trainee - because in the end, Jungkook did trust Yugyeom. He always had his back, even when the trainees from Shadowhunter families snubbed him for his past and even when Jungkook's pent up frustration ended up exploding, resulting in a brawl, lots of broken limbs, a bunch of resentful but cowed Shadowhunters, a nosebleed and a warning from the teachers. He was the one who'd saved his life on a test expedition, pulling him back just as a demon slashed at the spot he had been standing in a second before. He'd been the one to hold him back and make him reconsider when he'd tried making a run for it, angry and hurt by the malicious comments of the others. His promise to Yugyeom was what kept him from sneaking away the night before the Ascension ceremony, terrified that he might be deemed unworthy of the title Shadowhunter and that he would be exposed to the world as a coward and a fake, a mere shell of a boy. He couldn't be more grateful to fate for putting him in the same room as the other boy. So, yes, maybe Yugyeom was a friend. No, Jungkook decided, he was a friend. Hisfriend. And if he had a friend, maybe he could make some more. He glanced at the laughing boy in the pikachu onesie. Maybe this Taehyung guy would be a good friend candidate. They'd share their love for Pikachu, at any rate.

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Things rapidly returned to normal once Jimin woke up. Lessons resumed as always and Jungkook was integrated into their small group of four, now five students. Hoseok and Moonbyul were patient, understanding tutors and helped him whenever he got stuck, which was often. In the physical lessons, he excelled. Yoongi was grudgingly impressed by the new boy's skills, and Solar was lavish with her praise and support, watching over him with a sort of motherly pride. Hwasa and Wheein decided Jungkook was their new little brother, and treated him as such, teasing him constantly and engulfing him in sudden warm hugs and condescending hair ruffles. Jimin was infatuated by the cute bunny boy, as he insisted on calling him, which definitely didn't help Yoongi's grudge. Taehyung was as enthusiastic as always, delighted to have a new friend to play with. Jungkook tried his best - he really did. But suddenly living with so many friendly, loud, boisterous people didn't really help him start to feel at home, and his natural shyness also hindered him from feeling comfortable. So he hovered on the fringes of their group, quiet and shy, observing everyone and everything but remaining silent in the background.

Seokjin became his refuge. He'd taken a liking to the tall man from the very start, and Solar's story about the man had made him respect and admire him even more. Seokjin could be counted upon to stay quiet, and Jungkook often found himself hiding away in Seokjin's office just amusing himself quietly while the Head of the Institute made his way through piles of paperwork beside him. He quickly discovered that unlike his quiet, mature exterior, the older boy was actually quite playful and childish at times, but he found he didn't mind too much since his playfulness was mostly restricted to bad puns and cringe-worthy dad jokes instead of physical pranks or too much skinship. Namjoon also showed up on most days, always with a lame excuse to explain just why he, a downworlder - and a leader at that - was in a Shadowhunter Institute that he was technically forbidden from entering. The excuses fooled no one, but Jungkook generously held back from poking fun at the two, silently watching them instead as they awkwardly danced around each other.

On the other hand, he avoided Jimin like the plague. He'd figured out the reason for the short tempered blond's glaring and wanted to stop it, but Jimin kept showering him with affection and unwanted attention, always pouncing on him out of nowhere and pulling him into the group whenever he could. It got worse when Jimin found out he was also from Busan: "Omg Kookie, we're from the same place!" he squealed, bouncing up and down in excitement. That was another thing Jungkook hated. Everyone seemed hell bent on giving him a nickname. Kookie, Jungkookie, Kook, not to mention bunny boy, little bunny and Maknae. It made his skin crawl with embarassment, and it seemed way too intimate for people he'd known less than a week to call him that. He unvariably blushed whenever they called him by such names, which only made them coo over his red cheeks.

"Aww, ish our li'l Maknae embawassed?" Wheein teased one day, her laughing eyes crinkled into crescents as she squished his flaming cheeks between her palms. "Look, Hobi, he's even squishier than our Mochi, I didn't know that was possible!" Hoseok studied him playfully, catching her in a back hug and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Mm, I still think Jiminnie's cheeks are squishier," he disagreed. Jungkook squirmed out of Wheein's grip, red-faced and breathless. Dang, she was strong!

"Now, where do you think you're going, young man," Wheein tutted, grabbing him just as he was sneaking away while she was distracted by Hoseok's kisses. Jungkook slumped, resigning himself to his fate. "Oppa, don't you think our Maknae should get a haircut? He's getting a little shaggy," she mused, lifting a strand of his hair. Jungkook scowled, swatting her hand away. His hair was getting a bit too long, it was true. He hadn't been to a proper hair salon since he'd started living on the streets over two years ago, and his messy black hair was now starting to brush his shoulders in some places. He'd cut it himself using some kitchen scissors once, but had done a bad job of it, resulting in a shaggy, uneven mop.

"Great idea," Hoseok enthused. "Go get yourself ready, Jungkook-ah. Meet us down at the entrance hall in 10, okay?" Jungkook agreed reluctantly and dragged himself back to his room to change. A part of him was secretly glad for the chance to cut his hair - it had been getting on his nerves for quite some time, always getting in his eyes and blocking his view when fighting. It would be great to get to see more of the city, too. Since he'd lived in Busan most of his life, he was new to Seoul and hadn't had the chance to explore yet. He got ready in a flash and left his room in considerably better spirits than before, but all his good feelings about the day vanished when he spotted Yoongi standing at the doors instead of Hoseok. Wheein was with Yoongi and waved him forward eagerly. He inched forward gingerly, eyeing the grumpy blond male. "Jungkook, Hobi and I are busy today so Yoongi oppa will be going with you instead," she explained brightly. "He's been wanting to dye his hair again anyways, so the two of you should use this chance to get closer. Don't be back too late, and try to avoid getting into trouble! Good luck!" and with those words, she pushed them both outside and shut the doors firmly behind them, turning the locks with a decisive click. Jungkook and Yoongi stood there in disbelieving silence. Jungkook chanced a glance at his companion, who was just standing there glaring daggers at the doors. He jumped when the other suddenly spoke. "Aish, come on, kid. Let's get this over with." Yoongi's voice was gruff and exasperated, but not mean or malicious, to Jungkook's relief. He trailed behind the older as they made their way through the town, carefully keeping out of Yoongi's way. He didn't want him to explode.

Meanwhile, Hoseok and Wheein watched the two through a small window in the alcove next to the entrance hall. "You really think they'll be alright, SeokSeok?" Wheein asked worriedly, nibbling on her thumb. Hoseok just laughed and drew her hand away from , holding it firmly instead. "Yah, don't let Yoongs hear you calling me that," he grinned. "He'll have your head for stealing his nickname."

Wheein smiled devilishly. "Oh, don't worry. I can just threaten him with Jimin and he'll be putty in my hands."

"Who will?" a voice behind them asked, making them both jump.

"Oh, Jiminnie," Hoseok laughed awkwardly. "Didn't see you there. How long were you standing there for?"

Jimin shrugged, eyes still narrowed in suspicion. "I just came in and heard you talking about me. Why? Was there something I shouldn't have heard? Who were you talking about threatening, anyway?"

Wheein laughed nervously, thinking fast. "We were talking about Tae, of course. He would do anything for you, especially after your accident, and he hasn't been handing in his homework lately. I was saying we could threaten him with punishing you whenever he fails to do something, instead." Hoseok mouthed "Good thinking," at her over Jimin's head, giving her a discreet thumbs up. It was the truth, anyway. Taehyung never did his homework.

"Oh," Jimin said, eyes widening. "Tae, that idiot! Don't worry, hyung, I'll tell him off for you. By the way, have you seen Yoongi hyung anywhere? I wanted to talk to him..."

"Yoongs just went out," Hoseok told him. Jimin's shoulders slumped slightly. "Oh, thanks, hyung. I'll be going then," he waved dejectedly and left the room. Wheein raised her eyebrows at his retreating back.

"He still doesn't know, does he?" she asked.

"About Yoongi? Nope. Not a clue," Hoseok sighed. "They're both so frustrating," he growled, tugging at his hair, making it stand up in every direction. Wheein snorted at the sight. "You look like a porcupine," she sniggered, running her fingers through it fondly. "We should do something about it," she added casually, tilting her head to examine her masterpiece.

Hoseok grinned evilly. "Operation Yoonmin, yeah?" Wheein grinned right back. She held out a hand and Hoseok high fived it.

"Operation Yoonmin, start!"