ATTENTION: the titles are gonna change from now on ^^ I ran out of lyrics to use haha so from now on they're either going to explain what happens ion the chapter, or be lyrics from another song that I feel sums up the chapter. This one is from I will not bow, by Breaking Benjamin.

The next few chapters are going to be called "Yoonmin operation" by the way! haha
This one is featuring a lot of Sugakookie learning to accept each other and becoming friends. Jungkook's past also makes an appearance. I might be posting a seperate fic with the details of Jungkook's life before he joins the Seoul Institute, so keep an eye peeled!
Also, yeah the characters might be kinda frustratingly shy with each other (*cough* namjin *cough* yoonmin *cough*) but bear with me please ^^;

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Jungkook trailed after Yoongi, trying hard not to get lost in the crowd. They hadn't bothered with the Mendelin rune, so people could see them just fine. Most people steered clear of Yoongi, somehow sensing that this was not someone to be crossed, but to his eternal annoyance, no one seemed to have told them that Jungkook was just as badassdangerous as the blond Shadowhunter, and he was continuously jostled from side to side by the busy, bustling crowd. At this rate, he was going to lose sight of Yoongi. He huffed a sigh and was just about to call to the older boy to wait for him, when he noticed that Yoongi had paused in front of a side street. Yoongi gave no reaction when the breathless teen stumbled to a stop next to him, simply starting down the street without a word. The way was mostly empty, and the streets became steadily emptier and narrower as they twisted and turned through the maze of back streets.

Finally, they stopped in front of a small shop with a bright neon sign blaring Xia Hair. Yoongi pushed open the door and the two boys entered. Inside, the shop was warm and brightly lit, cozier than it had seemed from the outside. A tall man with bright red hair stood tending to a sullen looking teenager, who was slumped in his chair looking completely done with the world.

"Yoongi! Long time no see!" the red haired man exclaimed, looking up from the boy's hair.

"Hey, Junsu hyung," Yoongi replied easily. "I see you've changed your hair again. Wasn't it bright yellow, before?"

The boy in the rotating chair snorted. "It was yellow months ago. The last few weeks it was blue. Keep up, dude."

The hairdresser, Junsu, smacked the boy's shoulder, hard.

"Ow!" he yelped, clutching his bruised shoulder.

"Respect your elders, Sehun," Junsu tutted. "And you're one to talk. Who's the one getting his hair turned into a ing rainbow, hmm?"

Yoongi snorted with laughter. "A rainbow?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he strolled over to the chair next to Sehun's and threw himself down. Jungkook followed, sitting himself down carefully next to Yoongi.

"None of your business, Shadowhunter," Sehun growled, scowling.

Yoongi just flicked his forehead. "Manners, kid. Joonmyun would be so disappointed with you - a member of his pack being so rude, how disgraceful," he grinned, settling back into his chair as Sehun massaged his sore forehead, grumbling.

"Who's the new kid, Yoongi?" Junsu asked absentmindedly, concentrating on applying the correct dye to each strand of Sehun's hair.

"Jungkook," Yoongi grunted. "New recruit. Just Ascended." Jungkook muttered a small hello. "Boy's a genius," Yoongi added grudgingly. "A natural. Better than anyone I've seen 'till now." Jungkook blinked at the unexpected compliment, slightly embarassed. He felt strangely proud of earning the skilled Nephilim's approval. "He needs a haircut," Yoongi continued.

"Mm, I can see that," Junsu hummed, regarding Jungkook's mop of hair with a professional disgust. "And you? What color will it be this time?"

"I was thinking green," Yoongi said, voice thoughtful. He eyed a strand of white-blond hair critically, twisting it in his fingers. "Not the kind of dark seaweed green you had before, hyung - I was thinking more of a... mint color. What do you think?"

Junsu looked him over quickly, thinking about it. "It's not a color anyone's tried before," he said finally, pulling a heating machine over and setting it up behind Sehun. "but with your pale complexion, I think it might actually suit you pretty well. Good choice," he approved, and turned the machine on. The huge fan started turning slowly, heating the hair product and letting it set.

"Alright, then. Let's get to work," Junsu trilled, coming to stand behind Yoongi. "I'll do a treatment on you first. You'll need it if you want to keep your hair from falling out with the constant abuse. I'll cut Jungkook's hair while it works its magic - and I mean that literally: that stuff is from Jackson, and it works wonders, I swear. You're not gonna dye your hair, kid?" he asked, pumping some product onto his gloved hands.

Jungkook shook his head. "I'll stick with black, thanks," he replied.

Junsu hummed. "Probably wise," he said. "I get the feeling that if I bleached your hair you'd end up looking like an old man instead of looking cool. Best for you to keep to dark colors, like brown or black. You might want to try something like midnight blue or deep purple one day. Not too flashy, almost like plain black but with a zing to it," he mused, attitude completely professional.

Jungkook had to admit that sounded cool. "Maybe next time," he agreed, and with a kind smile, Junsu began his work.

Three long hours later, both boys were finished. Sehun had left long ago, extremely pleased with his new multicolored hairstyle. Yoongi paid for both of them, assuring Jungkook it was Seokjin's, a.k.a the Institute's money and not his, and the two of them left the shop, looking very different from when they had entered it. It had grown darker outside, the sun beginning to set, and Jungkook shivered in his thin white shirt. Yoongi noticed and shrugged out of his black leather jacket without a word, holding it out to the younger. He pointedly ignored Jungkook's look of disbelief, glaring the other way as he shoved the jacket in his direction like it was something poisonous. "Just take it, will you?" he muttered gruffly, and Jungkook took the jacket, muttering a thanks as he hastily put it on. It was warm. He couldn't believe Yoongi, who had so far appeared to hate him, was being so nice to him. He was slowly beginning to realize how Yoongi worked - prickly, gruff and quite frankly terrifying on the outside, but actually caring and kind on the inside.

Yoongi stalked off, shoving his hands in his pockets as he hunched up his shoulders against the wind. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, black skinny jeans and black combat boots, into which he had shoved a small dagger - its handle could be seen sticking out. Jungkook himself had stuck a couple of seraph blades in his jeans pocket, since it was never wise to go out unarmed. He hadn't received that many Marks yet, so his arms were relatively flawless. Only the Voyance rune on the back of his hand  and an incomplete Iratze meant for emergency healings decorated his smooth skin. Yoongi, on the other hand, was covered with Marks and the remains of old, used runes, the dark black lines and silvery stains spiralling up and down his skin and poking out from under the cover of his sweater.

The two boys hurried through the myriad of alleyways in silence. Jungkook was deep in thought, thinking about deceptive appearances and complex personalities, when he looked up and realised he had managed to lose Yoongi. It was his own fault, he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going and had wandered away from the older Shadowhunter. Annoyed with himself, he shook his head and turned to retrace his steps. He was pretty sure he could remember his way back to the shop; maybe Junsu could call the Institute for him or something. He stopped when he realised someone -or something - stood in his way. He tensed. It was a small, crouched figure and it made Jungkook's skin crawl, for some reason. He hesitantly stepped forward and realized it was a homeless guy, a hunchbacked old man in tattered rags and a wide brimmed straw hat. Relaxing slightly, he approached the old man, trying to inch past him in the narrow stone street.

The old man gargled something. Jungkook paused, frowning. "I'm sorry?" he asked politely. It was an old man, after all. Maybe he was lost. He stepped closer to hear what the man was muttering. He realised his mistake when the stranger raised his head and grinned at him, displaying horrible, jagged teeth like those of a shark, impossibly sharp and deadly. "Pretty boy," he gargled, a hand shooting out and grabbing his arm before he could jerk away. "Pretty, pretty boy. Are you lost?"

"N-no," Jungkook stammered, trying to break free. He was freaking out. The creature kept smiling crazily at him, milky eyes wide and bits of froth collecting at the sides of its impossibly large mouth.

"Pretty boy," it crooned, Jungkook's cheek with a gnarled hand. "Lost, lost and all alone, hmm? Come with me, come." He tugged at Jungkook, ignoring his efforts to get away. "No Marks, no Marks to stop you, such a nice little boy," it giggled, and Jungkook cursed his lack of Runes, regretting not marking himself up before leaving the Institute. He suddenly remembered the Seraph blades in his pocket. He redoubled his struggles, trying to reach around and slip the blades out of his jeans. "Come with me, pretty little Shadowhunter."

He finally managed to wrap his fingers around one of the blades in his pocket. "Jahoel," he spat, gripping the weapon in his free hand as the glowing blade blazed to life. The creature hissed, snarling at the angelic blade, and Jungkook brandished it triumphantly. "Let go of me, foul creature," he spat. He slashed down at the limb clutching his arm and the goblin sprang back as if burned before the Adamas could touch it. "Nasty, nasty," it sputtered and spat, pacing warily around Jungkook. He was sweating, fingers slick around the blade. It was his first time facing a foe alone, armed only with a blade, and he felt a rush of adrenaline. Contrary to all the action movies he had watched, adrenaline didn't give him badass fighting skills. In fact, it made his head spin, almost making him forget all his training and making his swings shaky and inaccurate. He cursed his trembling hand. What had happened to all his confidence in the training hall? This wasn't even anywhere near the most dangerous creature they had trained to fight against, yet his brain was babbling at him like a baby, telling him to just get the hell out of there. And the thing, the goblin, could tell. He could see it in its crafty eyes, the way it its lips as it eyed his trembling blade. It knew he was scared, unexperienced. It could smell his fear, sense it like a shark. He gulped and gripped the blade tighter.

"Jungkook!" an arm grabbed him from behind, swinging him back to place him safely behind the newcomer's back. Yoongi. Jungkook almost sobbed in relief. He had never been so glad to see someone in his life, and Yoongi was certainly a reassuring ally to have.

"Goblin," Yoongi hissed, eyes narrowed. "This boy is not yours to touch. Leave, or face the consequences." Even without a visible weapon, the boy was terrifying. The goblin cowered back, lowering its eyes and muttering under its breath. "The boy was lost, wandering around unmarked. Unmarked means weak. Weak means prey." It continued to grumble, spitting and gargling. Yoongi growled angrily. "The lack of Marks does not mean he is yours to take, Faerie," he spat. "You have no business here. Leave, I say." The goblin glared, but slunk back reluctantly, disappearing into the shadows. Yoongi relaxed, then whirled on Jungkook. He flinched, bracing himself for a scolding, but none came.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, grabbing his shoulders and turning him around to check for wounds.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Jungkook stuttered. He finally let himself relax, and he felt his limbs start to shake. The blade dropped from his numb fingers and he buried his head in his hands. Yoongi said nothing but pulled the boy closer, patting him on the back.

"I-I was so pathetic, hyung," Jungkook groaned into Yoongi's shoulder. "I couldn't do anything. I don't deserve to be a Shadowhunter." He pulled back, tugging at his shirt in shame. "A-and you told Junsu hyung I was good!" he wailed quietly, utterly ashamed. Yoongi chuckled and patted his hanging head.

"Yah, don't be so hard on yourself. It's natural to panic on your first time." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Listen well, kid. Being a Shadowhunter doesn't mean you can't feel fear. It doesn't automatically turn you into a hero. Now that you know just how scary it is to actually have to fight for your life, you'll be prepared next time. That's what we train you for, isn't it? So don't be ashamed, kid. You'll get used to it soon enough."

Jungkook nodded and wiped his teary eyes furiously, embarassed by his tears. "It's just," he sniffed, "I remembered something, and I panicked. I-" he broke off, shuddering at the memory. Yoongi waited patiently for him to calm down, pulling him down to sit on the stone steps in front of a boarded-up shop. "It was the first time I met a demon," Jungkook started finally. "I'd always seen them from afar, never up close. I was 14, and I was on my way home." Yoongi listened wordlessly. "It was getting dark, and I was alone, when suddenly there was this guy in the street, following me. I didn't notice him at first. I was listening to some music, I didn't see him until it was too late. The demon - it looked like a normal guy, except for the eyes. They were black, pure black. No whites. I don't know why it came after me specifically. Maybe I was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever the reason, it tried to grab me. I saw it coming. My body reacted on its own, and it ended up missing me. It came back straight away, though, and it lifted me like a sack of potatoes. It kept its lips and muttering stuff like that goblin was doing. It was going to bite me. I managed to grab a pencil - I stabbed its back and it dropped me, but I twisted my leg when I fell." Jungkook rubbed his leg absently as he told his story, feeling a phantom pain from the memory. "I was terrified. There was no one around, just closed shops. There was a bike and board rental shop next to where I fell and I was desperate, so I grabbed a stone and broke into the store. I hit the demon around the head with a longboard and just booked it out of there on a bike. I didn't even feel the pain, I was so concentrated on getting away. Later, no one believed me when I explained just why I had been breaking and entering, not to mention stealing. I suppose I should have left out the supernatural parts, but I told the exact truth like a little idiot." He laughed bitterly. "My parents are super rich, so they managed to get me out of trouble and even wiped the whole event from police records, but it was the last straw for them. They were already sick of my 'stories', so they kicked me out. They said they had no need for a troublemaking crazy kid like me who saw monsters around every corner. So yeah. That goblin brought back bad memories and I panicked. Even after two whole years and all that training for such exact situations, I can't seem to get over it."

There was a long silence. Yoongi didn't know what to say. He settled for squeezing Jungkook's knee reassuringly in silence. The small gesture turned out to be better than any words he could have offered, since Jungkook sniffled and gratefully leaned his head on Yoongi's shoulder. They stayed like that for a while.

"Thanks, hyung," Jungkook said finally, voice a little hoarse. Yoongi merely gave his knee another friendly squeeze. Jungkook smiled and stood up shakily. "We should get back to the Institute," he said. Yoongi nodded in agreement, and the two of them started walking. The way back was spent in silence, both boys deep in their own thoughts. Yoongi was processing Jungkook's story, realising that the boy's past was more complicated than he let on. He felt a surge of protectiveness for the younger boy. Jungkook, on the other hand, was slightly shocked that he had opened up so much to someone like Yoongi, who hadn't known him for very long. He felt a strange sort of comfortableness around the older boy, a feeling of safety. He wondered whether this was what having an older brother felt like. His real brother had never had time for him, always busy with his studies. Junghyun had been the perfect son: tall, handsome, smart, dedicated, sensible and ambitious. Neither he nor their parents had time for the hallucinating little runt that was always getting into trouble. Somehow, Yoongi felt more like a big brother than Junghyun ever had, despite being the perfect role model to look up to and follow.

The others were in a state when they got home; they'd been worried since the two had taken much longer to get home than they should have. Wheein was comforting a teary Hoseok who was convinced he had sent them both off to their deaths and Seokjin had been endlessly pacing back and forth in the entrance hall. When the two finally slipped through the doors of the Institute, they were mobbed by the crowd of impatient friends that was torn between exclaiming at the new hairstyles, yelling at them for making them worry and asking them what had happened. Everyone complimented Yoongi's new mint green hair, but their jaws dropped open when they saw the difference a simple haircut had made in their Maknae. Before, Jungkook had hidden his face behind the curtain of hair, peeking through shyly from behind them. Now, with his hair newly cut and styled, his face was brought into clear relief. His cheeks were still slightly chubby with baby fat, and his nose was slightly too big for his face, but his jawline was already sharp and his features well defined. The new haircut brought out the best in him, turning him from a shy emo kid to a handsome young man. Everyone marveled over the transformation. Taehyung in particular was a blushing mess, hovering close by like a butterfly attracted by a sweet smelling flower. He had already thought Jungkook was cute before that day; now his mind was blown by the shy bunny smile coupled with the handsome, attractive face.

The two boys didn't say much about the reason for their lateness, simply saying that they'd run into some trouble on the way back, but Seokjin could tell Jungkook had been crying even if the others couldn't, and coaxed the truth out of them later on in his office. He was outraged by the behaviour of the goblin - probably a rogue, he growled angrily. Normal goblins were better behaved than that since they were under the care of the Faerie Queen. He had also known about Jungkook's past but he was still enraged by the behaviour of his parents. It was outrageous, he ranted later that night to Namjoon, pacing back and forth angrily in his office. Parents should never abandon their kids like that. How dared they? He was of half a mind to go to their house himself and shake some sense into them. He was so mad.

"Hey, he's here now. You can all become his family from now on, instead, and make sure he gets all the love he deserves," Namjoon comforted him.

Seokjin frowned at him. "We can become his family," he corrected. "Why leave yourself out? You're as much a part of us as anyone else."

Namjoon was at a loss for words. Suddenly, he choked up, and standing abruptly, pulled Seokjin into a hug. Seokjin squeaked.

"Thank you," the warlock muttered in a low, gravelly voice filled with emotion. "All my life, I've never met a Shadowhunter as accepting of downworlders as you. All of you accept me so easily as one of your group, and you don't know how much it means to me." He pulled back slightly and noticed how red the boy in his arms had become. He chuckled fondly and Seokjin glared up at him. "Don't laugh," he pouted. That only made Namjoon laugh harder.

"God, you're so adorable," Namjoon chuckled. Both of them froze when they realized what he'd said. Suddenly, the room felt too hot and both boys realized just how close they were standing to each other - they were pressed close, Namjoon's arms wrapped tight around Seokjin, faces so near each other's that their breaths mingled. Seokjin could hear his heart banging in his chest and prayed to the Angel that Namjoon couldn't hear it, too. He was slightly shorter than the tall warlock, so his eyes were at the level of his mouth, and he gulped, eyes fixed on the plump lips just inches from his. His tongue flicked out to wet his own lips and Namjoon swallowed hard, eyes flickering down to watch the movement. Slowly, he leant in. Seokjin's breath hitched, and then they were kissing, slick lips finding each other hungrily, and it was all he had ever dreamed of. It was short and sweet, and full of promises and hope for the future, and when they pulled back they were both grinning madly.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," Namjoon breathed, eyes shining. Seokjin laughed softly, leaning his head on the other's chest. "Me too," he admitted. "I've wanted this for so long." Namjoon smiled, kissing his temple, and readjusted his arms around the Shadowhunter. Seokjin smiled up at him. This time, he was the one who leaned in first, and their second kiss lasted way longer than their first.