SPRING; March

Friday -- Evening

To say that dinner was awkward was an understatement. Nobody really talked, only eating their beef and broccoli in silence as Jungkook’s father asked Jungkook and Jiyoo a couple of questions about school that day. The rest just listened, feigning innocence as if they didn’t know.

Technically it was a secret that the rest of the guys spied on Jiyoo and Jungkook anyways.

“You know, you should try being nicer to the other kids.” Jungkook’s father says, “Jungkook, you won’t get a girlfriend if you’re mean to girls.”

Some of the guys look at Jiyoo to see her reaction, but all she did was nod her head agreeingly. Jungkook doesn’t appear phased either and the two of them continued to eat as if the question didn’t bother them.

“The girls at our school are ugly anyways.” Jungkook finally says, letting out a sigh before continuing to eat again.

To that, Jiyoo rolls her eyes. Jungkook sees that and gives her a playful shove, which earns him a shove back from Jiyoo. The two of them had little grins on their face and Jungkook’s father was relieved that they weren’t fighting anymore. It was extremely rare for the two to fight. Even if they disagreed on something, they never let it get out of hand before going back to talking to one another.

Jungkook’s father wants to thank the boys, but he keeps the thought to himself, wanting Jiyoo and Jungkook to stay on good terms.

“I’m talking to you too Jiyoo.” He speaks up again, making Jiyoo point at herself with her chopsticks as Jungkook’s father nods his head.

“It’s okay Uncle.” Jiyoo says confidently, “I don’t want a girlfriend.”

Taehyung spit out his food as he looked at Jiyoo, shocked by what she said and that she said it with a huge grin plastered on her face. Hoseok was laughing at her comeback while the others were just staring at her, possibly amused by her answer or surprised that she had it in her to say something like that.

Jiyoo’s personality was usually fun and playful, much like Jungkook’s. The only reason why she was so quiet was because there were ‘new’ people around. It appeared as though she was getting used to them though, to Jungkook’s dismay.

“She needs to be more mean.” Jungkook grumbles, “There are too many boys around her.”

“There are not.” Jiyoo shoots back, looking at Jungkook in a very offended fashion. “And besides, I do a great job at making them go away.”

“Yeah, right.” Jungkook imitates how Jiyoo gets when she’s near boys, making his eyebrows scrunch together as his words came out soft and inaudible. Naturally he'd put his own spin on the imitation as well, slumping down in his seat to appear smaller as he continued to let out small stutters.

Hoseok is laughing even more now, along with Jimin and Namjoon after seeing Jungkook’s spot on imitation. They hadn’t known Jiyoo for long, but that was the exact way that she was around them, making it extremely funny to watch her get worked up about it.

“I’m done.” Jungkook announces, looking at Jiyoo who nods her head to signal she was finished as well. “We’re gonna go upstairs to play games.”

Jungkook’s father sighs, but waves them off. Both Jiyoo and Jungkook didn’t eat their broccoli, but he was used to seeing that. The ones that weren’t used to the two’s fickle eating habits were the rest of the guests sitting at the dinner table.

And there were many that were not happy at what they were seeing.

“Wait, you guys are done already?” Seokjin says, baffled by the amount of food left on their plates. “You guys only ate like, half your plates!”

“The plate looks pretty empty to me though.” Jiyoo says innocently, looking down at her plate and looking at Jungkook who agreed with her.

“Sit down and eat the rest of your food.” Namjoon says sternly.

It was if their bodies were taken over, rendering their minds and limbs useless. Both Jungkook and Jiyoo felt their bodies get yanked down into their seats as they put their plates back onto the table. Neither of them knew what was going on, only watching in horror as their hands moved on their own.

Jungkook picked up a piece of broccoli and placed it in his mouth, grimacing as the rough texture rubbed against his tongue. He chewed it with disgust, but couldn’t find himself disobeying Namjoon’s order as he shoveled another piece into his mouth. Everyone could see his fingers were red from pressing down on his chopsticks. It was a miracle that they didn’t break somehow.

From that moment on, Jungkook realized that Namjoon’s word was the power of a true Alpha leader.

Jiyoo on the other hand picked up a piece of broccoli, but hadn’t put it in yet. Her hand was frozen and she just stared at the piece of broccoli that was stuck in front of her face.

“Jiyoo? Is there anything wrong?” Jungkook’s father asked.

All eyes were on Jiyoo as she turns to look at him. Her face was as blank as a sheet of paper, making her look sick under the low light of the ceiling lights.

“I-I feel sick.” She manages to get out, body still frozen with her broccoli in between her chopsticks.

Jungkook’s father frowns and looks towards Namjoon. “Stop.”

Before they knew it, a wave of pheromones washed over everyone in the room. Jiyoo, Jungkook and the rest of the guys all dropped their utensils in sync, allowing Jiyoo and Jungkook to have some breathing room.

While Jungkook began to spit out the broccoli bits, Jungkook’s father had already walked over to Jiyoo as he pressed a hand to her forehead, “You feel a little warm. Go lay down and we’ll take care of the rest.”

Jiyoo nods her head and trudges out of the living room, her body collapsing onto the couch as soon as it was in range. Heading back to his seat, Jungkook’s father looks at Namjoon with a frown.

“I understand that you’re the leader,” He begins, staring down at the younger with a tight lipped grimace, “but remember that Jiyoo is an Omega.”

Namjoon gives him a curt bow before staring at his empty hand, flipping his palm up and back down again as if it weren’t his own hand he was looking at. Even though he was an Alpha, Namjoon knew to not underestimate Jungkook’s father’s strength pheromone wise.

Jungkook on the other hand was glaring at him and made sure Namjoon was watching as he took his and Jiyoo’s plates to the trash can and dumped all their leftover broccoli. Everyone finished eating fairly quickly, allowing Jungkook’s father to start doing dishes.

Jungkook was in the living room checking up on Jiyoo when he decided that he would go and help his father do some dishes. When he arrived, he found his father washing dishes and another person rinsing them. Seokjin was making small talk with Jungkook’s father, his face being relaxed and even smiling. Jungkook was surprised to see that Seokjin had emotions other than blank and angry.

Slowly making his way in, he picks up a dish rag and begins to dry the plates and utensils. He wasn’t aware of Seokjin’s eyes watching him do work, the latter being pleased that Jungkook had some manners.

“Usually Jungkook only helps out when Jiyoo is here, but I guess that makes you special too, huh Seokjin?” Jungkook’s father lets out a hearty laugh.

Seokjin is even more surprised to hear that, looking at Jungkook who refuses to meet his gaze. He smiles at the younger, just a little, continuing to finish up the dishes with the the father and son.

Meanwhile in the living room, the others that had finished eating were lounging around. Since Jiyoo was taking up half the couch, the others had to sit on the floor or in the other single chairs. They’d moved around a bit, not finding comfort on the hardwood floor or sitting atop the couch arms. Suga had been the first one to get irritated.

He walked up to Jiyoo and picked her head up, laying it down on his lap as he sunk into the couch. The others were amazed that he was being so nice, especially Jiyoo, who was half conscious and half asleep. She tried to wiggle her way down to the floor to lay down, but got scared after Suga used a tiny bit of his Alpha pheromones to scare her.

“Just sleep, brat.” Suga muttered, his pheromones dissipating before Jiyoo could begin to feel sick again. He leaned back into the couch and rested his eyes.

Jiyoo had no choice but to stay still at this point. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed that Jungkook would come soon. It wasn’t uncomfortable physically, but Suga was the member that scared her the most out of everyone.

Before she could feel herself relax Jiyoo felt something poke in between her eyebrows. The gentle touch smoothed out the little bump and made her open her eyes at the touch. Taehyung was sitting close to her again, though within arms length away. Jiyoo was a little surprised since he appeared to be keeping his distance in comparison to the incident in the treehouse. She could see Namjoon sitting in the back watching though and understood why Taehyung had stayed so far away.

Getting up, Jiyoo let herself sink into the back of the couch before pulling her legs to her chest. She felt bad that Taehyung had gotten scolded because of her, but that didn’t mean that she trusted him being so close either. Taehyung was still seated on the floor, his legs tucked under him as he kept his hands on his knees and his head bowed low.

“I’m sorry I touched you without permission.” Taehyung grumbles, earning a kick to the from Namjoon. “What? I apologized!”

“Stop making it sound like you molested her.” Suga groans, looking at Jiyoo before rolling his eyes.

Taehyung’s eyes were locked on to his knees as he let out a soft sigh. Looking up at Jiyoo again, he his lips and made sure that her eyes were looking into his as well.

“I’m sorry for being weird.” He rephrases. Taehyung’s eyes looked at you for a moment before staring back at the ground, hiding his eyes under his bangs. “I didn’t mean to scare you...”

Jiyoo could see Namjoon nod his head slightly from behind Taehyung, as if to accept his apology despite being the one that probably forced him to do it in the first place. She didn’t think Taehyung was a bad guy, just a little different is all. Putting her legs down, she let her toes brush against the floor before using her pointer finger to tap the crown of Taehyung’s head.

He was quick to look up at her again. Despite the sleep threatening to make Jiyoo knock out, she still gave Taehyung a small, but reassuring smile. “Everyone is a little weird. You just have to make sure you’re not going into people’s personal space, okay?”

Taehyung’s lower lip quivered a bit in relief, nodding his head as he smiled. The last thing he wanted was for Jiyoo to hate him. Normally, Taehyung wouldn’t care what others had to say about him, but for Jiyoo, it was really different. The thought of her hating him made his heart sink.

“I’m sorry too.”

The confusion was visible through Taehyung’s facial expressions. It was Jiyoo’s turn to apologize and the attention she was garnering made a small flush appear on her cheeks.

“Sorry… For literally jumping out the window to get away from you.” Jiyoo murmurs, looking down at her feet embarrassed by her own actions earlier.

Taehyung shakes his head quickly and looks at her dead serious. “It’s my fault. I’ll make it up to you!”

Jiyoo figures out that it’s Taehyung’s habit to get close to people when he gets excited, finding him slowly bringing himself closer and closer to where she was as she scooted farther and farther back each time. Before he could get too close, Taehyung was kicked again by not Namjoon, but Suga instead. As he falls to the floor in pain, Suga takes a scoot towards the middle of the couch and towards Jiyoo, his body sinking further back into the plush backrest.

“Don’t move too much or put you back in that treehouse and leave you there.” He warns, not bothering to open his eyes as he threatens Jiyoo.

She knew very well not to test Suga’s patience and nodded her head, fully aware that he couldn’t see her, but she still did it anyways. Jiyoo was still a bit tired after resting on the couch before Suga woke her up, feeling the need to lay back down again. She wasn’t about to disturb Suga while he was napping though, so she just opted to curl up into a ball and lean back in the couch, hoping to sleep before someone else tried to wake her up.

Jiyoo managed to head back into a light sleep, her body relaxing on the couch while her mind was still listening in on the conversations around her. She heard the guys mention her name a couple times, but didn’t open her eyes to check who’d said what. It was a bit of a shame, though she couldn’t help it either. Her body was in a state of lazy consciousness; While she could have her eyes open, she chose to keep them closed and vice versa. She could keep her eyes closed, but she wasn’t able to fully fall asleep just yet either.

She didn’t know how much time passed as she waited for Jungkook to finish helping out with the dishes. It felt long, but probably wasn’t more than another five minutes since she’d actually fallen asleep on the couch earlier.

“Jiyoo, wake up.” She heard Jungkook say, causing her to stir.

Jiyoo can feel the exhaustion weighing her down and opts to just continue laying back in the couch. It was worse since she couldn’t tell if she’d been sleeping for 30 minutes or 30 seconds, finding it extremely difficult to even open her eyes.

“I’m tired.” She whined, mouth opening to involuntarily let out a yawn.

Jungkook stood in front of Jiyoo with a small smile. Her body curled up in such a way that almost made her appear to look like a little doll. It was easy to ignore all of the others in the room as long as he could have Jiyoo with him as a distraction.

“Where’s Uncle?” Jiyoo asks, opening her eyes to try and look around, but not finding the man anywhere.

It was only her and Jungkook in the living room, along with all of the others that hadn’t left just yet. They were all looking at her too, the attention making her look down shyly.

“He went out for a bit.” Jungkook hums, “Let’s go upstairs so you can sleep.”

Jiyoo nods her head, but doesn’t move. Her body stays seated on the couch as she kicks her feet a bit. “Carry, pleasee.”

Jungkook watches as Jiyoo brings her hands up, another smile curling on his lips at the childish, yet endearing action. Putting his hands out, Jiyoo stretched her own hands out and let Jungkook pick her up. She clung to him like a koala, legs curled around his waist while she wrapped her arms around him so she could snuggle into his neck.

Some people thought it was weird, but she loved Jungkook’s smell. It always made her feel relaxed and at ease, hence why Jungkook was like her walking safety blanket.

Letting out a little grunt, Jungkook managed to hook his arm under Jiyoo’s legs and another around her waist before taking her upstairs. The rest of the guys watched, some amazed at how close they were and how they were not dating yet.

Watching Jungkook as he walked upstairs, Taehyung frowned even as he disappeared around the corner. “I could've done that too.” He mutters, pouting a bit.

“She looks pretty light.” Jimin nods his head.

Namjoon pats Taehyung on the back to console him. “You probably could, but I don't think she'd let you do that anytime soon.”

Taehyung lets out a small grunt before laying down on the floor. Now that Jiyoo was gone, he didn't have anything to do. More specifically, he didn’t have anyone to watch.

He’d been entranced by her the minute she’d walked into the room. She was so tiny and it made him want to protect her. He could be like her big brother! The idea sounded great in his head, but also made his stomach feel weird.

Jiyoo and Jungkook went to go lay down on the bed as soon as Jungkook brought her upstairs. She was curled up at Jungkook’s side, her head resting on his chest as she listened to his slow heartbeat.

“Do you think they're still there?” She asked, waiting for Jungkook to respond as she took another deep breath of his scent.

Jungkook wanted to say no, but that was only his own personal desire. He was pretty sure that the others were still downstairs. They wouldn't leave without his father’s permission most likely, especially since he’d brought them over in the first place.

“Maybe.” He settles with figuring that they would stay.

Jiyoo hums and pulls Jungkook’s blanket up to her chin. “Shouldn't we figure out why they came in the first place?”

Thinking back, the two never really knew the real reason why those guys had come. Their lives were comfortable with only the two of them and Jungkook’s father. It may have been a defensive reaction to new faces trying to come into their circle, but both Jiyoo and Jungkook weren’t sure about that either. Jungkook wanted to talk to Jiyoo more, but he could see her slowly drifting to sleep even when she tried her hardest to stay awake. He gently cradles Jiyoo’s head and puts his pillow under her head. Jiyoo gave him a small smile that he returned.

He her hair and watched as her strength to fight the sleep diminished, eventually allowing her to fall into a deep slumber.

Jungkook took one last look at Jiyoo, his eyes trailing down from her sleeping face to her injured arm. Seeing it all bandaged and red made his heart hurt. Being careful not to make any noise, Jungkook slowly made his way out from the bed, quietly closing his bedroom door before heading back downstairs.

He needed to set that Taehyung guy straight for hurting Jiyoo.

And it was just as he predicted; None of the guys had left, all being awake and doing little things to keep themselves occupied. Jungkook doesn't go near their circle, instead standing at the edge of the living room to speak to them.

“Why are you guys here?” Jungkook says with his arms crossed.

Namjoon is taken aback, but isn’t upset. If anything he looks impressed and a bit amused.

“We’d love to know the same thing.” He chuckles, though Namjoon can see Jungkook isn’t happy by his response. “I’m being honest, your dad didn’t tell us anything besides the fact that he wanted you to join us.”

“Join you?” Jungkook asks, confused. “As in you guys?”

“No, he meant the damn circus.” Suga says sarcastically.

Namjoon gives Suga a look and the latter huffs, crossing his arms as he leans back into the couch. It didn’t look like he was going to make any more comments about the situation, giving Namjoon enough time to gather his thoughts and speak again so Jungkook would stop getting ready to fight everyone.

“You gotta understand Jungkook. We really don’t know anything else but that.” Namjoon tries to say in all honesty. “He probably thought we were going to get along a little better, but we saw how that turned out.”

Jungkook immediately went to glare at Taehyung, still upset about Jiyoo’s injuries and the fact that he was so close to her. There was so much more that everyone needed to know. Why did it have to be Jungkook out of all people? And why wasn’t his father telling them the reason behind all of this?

“What am I even supposed to call you guys?” Jungkook asks, his voice a bit more mellow. There was no reason for him to be angry now since the others were in the same boat as he was, though the bitterness in his voice was still there a tiny bit.

“We’re in the middle of making a group name!” Hoseok says gleefully, “We’re thinking of, the Bantgan Boys! Or BTS for short.”

Jimin grimaces, “Only you’re thinking of a group name hyung.”

Jungkook ignores those two and looks towards Seokjin, who looks back at Jungkook after seeing him staring at the corner of his eye.

“You could call us hyung. Since we are older than you.” Seokjin says.

Jungkook gives a distasteful grimace, but nods his head. It’s only because Seokjin was one of the nicer ones. Although Seokjin yelled at him, it was only because Jungkook was unknowingly hurting Jiyoo. He would have a harder time calling Suga hyung since he was the only that harassed him the most.

“What about Jiyoo?” Jungkook asks again, “What do you want her to call you?”

Seokjin watches as the younger stares at them eagerly, though he tries his best to act nonchalant about his request. All the boy wanted was for Jiyoo’s safety and easy living, and Seokjin respected that. “She can call us whatever she wants, so as long as it’s not disrespectful.”

Before Jungkook could agree, Taehyung lets out a whine of disagreement. “No ssi’s to our names. It makes us sound too old.”

Jungkook’s eyes flitted over to Seokjin for a brief moment before looking back at Taehyung. He was still caught by Seokjin, earning a quick scolding from the latter.

“Ya!” Seokjin shouts, clearly upset. “I’m only five years older than you!”

Jungkook shushed him and pointed a finger upwards. The last time he checked, Jiyoo was asleep and he wanted to keep it that way. Seokjin opens his mouth again, but quickly presses his lips together. It would be embarrassing to be scolded by the youngest after all.

“She could call us… Oppa?” Jimin says cautiously, watching as Jungkook’s eyes go from playful to on fire.

Taehyung was quick to agree, but Jungkook firmly shook his head. “No.”

The others gave him a weird look and he just gave them a shrug. “She’ll feel uncomfortable.”

It wasn’t a very legitimate excuse, but Jungkook didn’t care. He took another look at Jimin and Taehyung before letting out a sigh. Jungkook was just starting to get used to having the visitors around, but he still didn’t trust them completely. It was only natural, since some of the members did almost attack them. Well, Suga threw Jungkook around multiple times in this day alone, but Taehyung was trying to get too close to Jiyoo.

And Jungkook didn’t like that.

“Especially you.” Jungkook points at Taehyung, who was unsure and pointed up at himself. “Stop making her uncomfortable. She got hurt because of you.”

Taehyung was taken aback, but didn’t stand down. Instead he stood up from the floor and walked right up to Jungkook. Their Alpha pheromones were radiating off of them and the others could feel it from their spots in the living room. Jungkook might not have used his Alpha pheromones often, but it didn’t mean he was going to back down anytime soon.

“I didn’t hurt her. You did that!” Taehyung growls, using his finger to poke Jungkook in the chest hard.

“I would never hurt Jiyoo!” Jungkook shouts back, not believing Taehyung’s words one bit. “She only had that after she came out from the treehouse where you were!”

“So much for being quiet.” Seokjin rolls his eyes, though he does nothing as he watches Jungkook and Taehyung begin to size one another up by their physiques.

Jungkook’s face was close to Taehyung’s now, their foreheads almost touching as their pheromones collided. The air felt heavy and made the entire atmosphere of the room feel grim.

“She had the red mark around her wrist when I found her! And the only person that was touching her before then was you, Jeon Jungkook.”

Taehyung gives Jungkook one last shove before stalking off back to the couch, leaving Jungkook on the floor to be with his thoughts alone. His mind was meddled with questions that couldn’t be answered without having to disturb Jiyoo’s sleep.

Had he hurt Jiyoo without even knowing it?

“I’ll admit that the scratch on her arm was because of me.” Taehyung grumbles, still upset that he had been framed. “But her wrist wasn’t me. Mostly, anyways.”

Hoseok gives Taehyung a little nudge so that he’d stop talking. They turned and saw Jungkook’s face light up as the fire began to burn in his eyes. Taehyung frantically waves his hands around to disperse the assumptions.

“It was only because she almost fell out of the treehouse! Unless you wanted me to just let her fall, huh?”

The anger in Jungkook’s eyes went out completely with only another guilty grimace remaining. Taehyung watched as Jungkook’s aggressive stance melted away after hearing Jiyoo had almost gotten more hurt than she already had. He, along with the others all had the same question replaying in their minds since they’d first seen Jiyoo and Jungkook together.

“Do you love her?” Jimin asks Jungkook.

“Yes.”

Jungkook was looking up at Jimin, his expression just as serious as his answer. There was no sugar coating over their title as best friends, or saying that he loved her like a sister. He knew that he loved Jiyoo, and wasn’t afraid to say it.

“And would you want her as your mate?”

Jimin watched as Jungkook’s eyes shook a bit. He took a long pause, unaware of the time passing by as he was lost in his own thoughts. Jungkook loved Jiyoo, but he’d never once thought about her being his mate. Before he could answer, Jimin patted him on the shoulder to get his attention.

“Then…” Jimin had already gotten up from his spot on the couch to go down to Jungkook, squatting down to meet at eye level with the younger. “You realize that she’s going to be our mate, right?”

“What?” Jungkook was awestruck. “No! She can’t be your mate!”

“If you join us, then that’s what’s going to happen.” Jimin sighs.

Jungkook didn’t know if this was the reason why Jungkook’s father wanted to bring them all together for dinner tonight. He wasn’t told about group mating or what the possible repercussions would be if he’d chosen to have Jiyoo as their mate. The fact that he was left in the dark made him panic, for his and Jiyoo’s sake.

“Then I won’t join you.” Jungkook decided quickly.

“Can you protect Jiyoo from other Alphas then?”

It was Namjoon’s turn to speak. His face looked worried, hands interlocked together as he leaned on his knees for support. “With a group, it’s easier. You do realize this, right?”

“I can protect Jiyoo and I will.” Jungkook presses, his teeth gritting together as he tried to keep himself calm.

There was no way he was going to let Jiyoo be their mates.

“You can’t even stand up against half of us.” Suga quipped, looking at Jungkook with a pitiful, yet taunting expression. “What makes you think you can stand up to all of the Alphas and Betas around Jiyoo?”

“I said, I can and I-”

Jungkook felt his vision go hazy, body swaying to the left as Jimin quickly went to stabilize him. There was only so much he could force his Alpha pheromones out, his body quickly tiring from his lack of practice of using them. Turning to his left, he mutters a quick thank you to Jimin before standing up on his own.

“Woah…”

Jungkook turns to look at Hoseok who was sniffing the air, a small excited grin forming on his face. “Did your dad put cookies in the oven before he left? Something smells good!”

None of them recalled Jungkook’s father making anything in particular before he’d gone out to do his errands. Even Jungkook and Seokjin were confused, and they were with him washing dishes. The more time went on, the stronger the smell got.

“It smells like peaches though?” Jimin says, confused at what Hoseok was describing.

“Or maybe someone popped some alcohol open?” Namjoon asks, though once he sees Jungkook his tongue clicks disappointedly. “Right, you’re underage... My bad.”

Suga was silent as he took deep, slow breaths of the scent, enjoying how it smelled clean, yet strong enough to warm his throat.

Seokjin shakes his head, “It must be Jiyoo’s perfume. I smell a floral scent.”

“It can’t be that because Jiyoo doesn’t wear perfume.” Jungkook shakes his head.

Before anyone could say anything else, the group almost missed Taehyung walking right past them and to the upstairs part of the house if Jimin hadn’t yelled for him to stay put. Jungkook wasn’t about to let him go upstairs either, stalking behind Taehyung and grabbing his shoulder to stop him from going any further.

It was only then that Jungkook recognized what the others were smelling. Only to him, it wasn’t perfume or cookies. His eyes grew bigger as his heart began to race, a change in mental state being easy detectable by the others.

“Everyone stay here.” He says, his voice going quiet as he realizes what the smell really was. Or rather, who the smell was coming from.

Jungkook took a few steps up the staircase before turning around to look at the others.

“And don’t follow me upstairs.”

A/N: I'm uploading this a little early (though it's still Sunday lol) because two things to say!

One, is that I'm done with AP exams!!

And two, is that I'm getting a haircut tomorrow and may or may not go to a party, soooo I might not be home. 

I can't use aff on my phone because the layout looks nicer on my laptop lmao. 

Hope you all liked this chapter! Even if it's going a little slow hehee

REWRITTEN FROM ORIGINAL <6/7/18>