“Jungkook, you need to go back home. Jimin must be out of his mind with worry.” Jungkook sighed from his spot on the couch, which he hadn’t left in nearly 12 hours, and looked over at Namjoon, who was seated in a recliner beside the couch.

   “I can’t go back now, we’ll just fight again. All we do now is fight… I still can’t believe he hit me… Jimin has never hit anyone before. Does he really hate me that much? Am I a horrible husband? What if he wants a divorce? Will I still see the kids? Oh my god, my life is ending.”

   “Shut up Jungkook. Jimin does not hate you, he’s not gonna divorce you, of ing course you’ll see your kids again. Calm the down. All you have to do is go home.” Jungkook groaned and sunk into the couch.

   “What do I say? Jimin was just so angry. Apologizing won’t be enough. Namjoon, you’re good with words. Tell me what to say.” Namjoon shook his head and gave Jungkook a stern look.

   “You need to go over there, say something sincere like how much you love Jimin or something, apologize until he forgives you, and fix the mess you made. It won’t work if I tell you what to say or how to say it. You’ve gotta do this by yourself, man.” Jungkook sighed again, standing and making his way to the guest room that Namjoon was letting him stay in.

   “I’ll go home soon,” he muttered as he walked away, not sounding very convincing. Namjoon put his head in his hands and rubbed his forehead, thinking of how to help solve the problem. He had never seen the couple be so divided before, to the point that they weren’t even capable of cohabitating at the moment. Those poor kids, he thought. Jungkook and Jimin had better pull their together. Namjoon stayed up late racking his brain for solutions. Nothing came.

   Jimin and Taehyung were sitting in the kitchen at the Jeon house, the atmosphere of the room dark and heavy around them.

   “Are you sure he’s really that mad? Maybe he’s just scared to come home. You know Jungkook, he can’t stay away from you for too long,” Taehyung said.

   “Maybe. But I really hurt him Tae… like for real, physically hurt him, There’s no way he’ll forgive me for that.” Jimin stared down at his hands, twisting around in his lap as he played absently with his nails. Taehyung reached across the table to rest a hand in front of Jimin, silently asking him to look up. Jimin did, and he was met with a gentle, comforting expression.  

   “Jungkook will forgive you. He’ll come home soon, and he’ll be as sorry as you are. He loves you,” Taehyung reassured. Jimin let a bitter smile cross his face for a second before looking down again.

   “Yeah, or he used to love me.”

   “Stop that, right now. He loves you. He always did, from the moment you two met in that crappy bus station in Busan. And I know that he’ll love you until he dies. You gotta trust me on this… Jungkook will never let you go.” Jimin nodded slowly, tears coming to his eyes. He knew that his husband loved him, of course he knew, but it was hard to understand how Jungkook could love him when Jimin just felt so inadequate.

   Jimin had been trying to keep himself from crying since Jungkook left. He had let a few tears spill when he called Taehyung asking him to come over, but that was it until this moment. Now Jimin had tears falling from his cheeks onto his hands, leaving streaks on his face and droplets on his lap. The sobs that threatened to come up from deep in his chest were difficult to swallow, but he didn’t want to disturb the kids any more than he already had. He cried almost silently, Taehyung watching with a concerned expression.

   “Jimin…” he said quietly. Either Jimin didn’t hear him or he didn’t care, because the tears continued. They didn’t stop until he was dehydrated, tired, and overwhelmingly depressed.

   “Sorry,”Jimin said weakly, wiping at his eyes and nose. Taehyung got him some tissues and pulled his chair up beside Jimin’s, wrapping an arm snugly around his best friend’s shoulders.

   “It’ll be alright Jimin. I promise.” Jimin nodded and rested his head on Taehyung’s shoulder, closing his eyes. Taehyung thought he might have fallen asleep but then Jimin muttered,

   “You know you’re the best friend ever, right? And that I love you so much.” Taehyung rubbed Jimin’s shoulder.

   “I know. I love you too.” They stayed like that until it got late and Jimin needed to go to sleep. Taehyung made him drink some water, wash his face, and change into pajamas before he tucked him in and stayed beside the bed until Jimin fell asleep.

   Namjoon’s phone rang and when he picked up, he was greeted with the concerned voice of Taehyung.

   “Hey Namjoon. Listen, I’m guessing Jungkook is at your place. Right?” Namjoon sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, resigning himself to this conversation.

   “Yes, he is. Do you want me to try to talk him into going home? Because I’ve been trying since he came here like four days ago.”

   “Oh. That is what I was gonna say. Um okay, well if that’s not working then I think we should get together and try to think of some way to fix this before Jungkook and Jimin ruin their own lives.”

   “Yeah, I agree. You free this afternoon? The restaurant by my place?” Namjoon asked. He heard Taehyung clicking on his keyboard, probably checking a schedule or cancelling other plans.

   “Yeah, that works. Meet at 2:00 and bring your A game. We’ve gotta figure this out.”

   “Okay. See you later Tae.”

   “Bye.” Namjoon sighed when Taehyung ended the call. How did everyone get so tangled up in this mess? It was just a promotion, who knew that it could cause so many problems. As Namjoon prepared to meet Taehyung, he started to wonder if they could even help at all. After all, if Jimin and Jungkook, the strongest couple that Namjoon had ever known, couldn’t get over this obstacle themselves, then how was anyone else supposed to find an answer?