It was a chill autumn evening and the dorm was silent, only the birds outside chirping their last songs of the day. 

Earlier the boys had been at dance practice, where they started rehearsing the choreographies for their comeback, and now they were finally back at the comfort of their home, either taking a nap already or waiting for their turn in the shower. Given their routine, it was no different from any other day and everything would've been just fine if only Jungkook had been there to follow the schedule like the others. 

Having to respond to a last minute request from the production team, something about recording one of the album's songs—"the file you sent got corrupted so we need you to record it again, please" was the messaged that got passed on to him by one of his managers—, he was busy the whole morning and during a good part of the afternoon, not finishing in time to go to practice. 

Later than everyone else, he was finally walking down the dorm's hallway in hushed steps, huffing and with browns deeply furrowed at the fact that he was behind the others in learning the new choreographies. 

He had no time to lose if he wanted to catch up, so he determinedly made his way to Jimin and Hoseok's shared bedroom in search of one of them who'd be willing to teach him the new moves. 

In all honesty, Jungkook felt bad for disturbing their rest time now that they had nothing planned for the night, but he couldn't fall behind the others if they wanted to release everything on the already set date. He had to think of the group, of the fans, and as such he had to do his best and not slack off. 

Fortunately for him, he was a faster learner, being able to rapidly learn choreographies and execute them with precision in no time. For that to happen, however, he first needed to know what the dance was, and no one would be a better choice to show it to him than one of the two best dancers in the group. 

Jungkook knew for a fact that Hoseok would be in his room, either listening to music or reading a book. Jimin, on the other hand, would be trickier to find, as he had the habit of going on impromptu dates with Namjoon, Jin or Taehyung, and the three of them were nowhere to be found at the moment. 

To his surprise, as he approached the door muffled voices could be heard from the inside, hesitant whispers flowing through the small crack under the wooden surface. 

Oh, Jungkook realized with a content sigh, apparently Jimin was home and that would definitely make his life easier. Jimin would for sure offer to help him without him having to ask twice—though not that Hoseok wouldn't, Jungkook just knew he'd be harder to convince. 

Jungkook held his fist up in the air, ready to knock, but stopped before it made contact with the door. He didn't want to interrupt whatever conversation was going on in there. Judging by the tone of it, it sounded like it could be something important. 

He brushed the hairs at the nape of his neck, unsure of what to do, and looked down the hallway as if expecting one of the other members to appear there and help him instead. 

He walked in a small circle, made to leave and go look for someone else, went back and raised his fist again, hesitated, and finally decided to just wait for a few minutes. He stood right where he was, unmoving and staring at nothing in particular, like he was suddenly lost inside of his own home and wasn't sure of where to go. 

But not even thirty seconds passed before something caught his attention. 

"I don't know, Seok-ah…" 

Jungkook's ears perked up, was that Yoongi? 

"Come on, Yoongs, you know they'd be accepting." Hoseok countered softly, his tone bordering on pleading, and Jungkook tilted his head to the side. Accepting? They? Who would be accepting of what? Were they planning to come up with a different style for their next comeback? But this one hadn't even started yet… 

"How can you be so sure?" Yoongi's voice sounded clearer now, more frustrated as well. 

"Well, we know at least Namjoon is accepting…" 

Yoongi scoffed. "Yeah, everyone is accepting until it happens to them. Until someone in their family comes out, then all hell breaks loose." 

Their conversation seemed to come to a halt and Jungkook took that opportunity to process what he had just heard. Namjoon was accepting? If they wanted to try something new odds were Namjoon would be all for it, but come out? What did that mean? 

"What?" Yoongi asked out of the blue, and Jungkook jumped in surprise. 

Raising a hand to his chest, Jungkook hastily looked to the sides to make sure no one had witnessed his embarrassing behavior and, after deeming the premises clear, he calmed his breathing down. 

He tried thinking about the situation at hand, Yoongi was probably confused by Hoseok's silence, it was all, it wasn't like he could know that Jungkook was standing on the other side of the wall and had purposely tried to scare him. Either that or Hoseok had done something he couldn't see and Yoongi was judging him for it. 

"Nothing," Hoseok replied in a lilting voice and Jungkook could tell that he had a smile on his face, "it's just that you unconsciously referred to our members as family, it was cute." 

Jungkook obviously didn't see what happened next, but from Yoongi's following words, all rushed and stumbling over each other, he figured the elder was flustered. 

"W-well, yeah? I mean, we've been living together for quite a while, of course you guys are family! But that doesn't change the fact that the others would all reject us as soon as we went to them and announced we've been dating since right after debut." 

"I'm sure it wouldn't be like that-" Jungkook's eyes widened and he felt himself blush a little. All of a sudden he felt like he was intruding in something extremely private and took it as his cue to leave. 

He stepped away from the door as silently as possible and didn't stay to hear the rest. 

On his way to the living room, the dance he needed to learn completely forgotten, his mind was being flooded with thoughts. Hoseok and Yoongi were in a relationship. They wanted to come out to the rest of the members but Yoongi seemed afraid. Hoseok called Yoongi cute. Yoongi was afraid. Afraid of the reaction he'd get from his family. 

As he sat on the couch, arms resting on his knees and eyes fixed on the blank TV screen, everything else on his mind and around him seemed to disappear, and only one thought remained; no matter how much Yoongi loved all of them, he was still terrified of coming out to them, and Jungkook, being the supportive dongsaeng he was, couldn't let things stay like that. 

 

 

Soon, Jungkook realized that wanting to do something and actually doing something were two very different things. 

No matter how much he thought about helping his hyungs open up to the others, he simply didn't know how to breach the subject with the two and announce he was there for them without admitting he had eavesdropped something that wasn't meant for his ears. 

It was a delicate situation already without him being involved in it, he didn't have the luxury to be careless and screw everything up, even if by accident. 

His first course of action had to be somewhere on the line of talking to the two elders and be clear about being on their side, show his support and say he would do anything in his power to get the other members to understand there was nothing wrong with their relationship—this assuming the worst case scenario where they wouldn't be accepting from the get go, which probably wouldn't be the case at all, right? Jungkook couldn't even be sure of that anymore, if Yoongi had his doubts then he definitely had his reasons and the realization that Yoongi might have been rejected and hurt by people close to him before made a pang rise to his chest. 

Either way, he couldn't just come up to Seokjin one day and announce that "hey, did you know that Yoongi hyung and Hoseok hyung have been dating for a while", it wasn't his place to do it, regardless of his hopes of getting a positive reaction to it. 

He mulled over his predicament in between the next strenuous practices and short nights of sleep until one day, when observing the group's rappers discuss the arrangement of a song, he remembered Hoseok's words, "we know Namjoon, at least, is accepting". 

Well, that could be a start.

 

 

"Namjoon hyung," Jungkook said as soon as he barged into the rapper's studio. The door was unlocked when he tried opening it, so he didn't knock and simply invited himself in. Now he understood why Jimin did it all the time, though since Namjoon never seemed too bothered by it he figured there was no need for him to announce his presence either. "What do you do when you want to show someone that you support them on what they're doing but they haven't really talked to you about it?" 

Usually he was even more comfortable than this in Namjoon's studio, he would walk around and examine the bear bricks displayed on the shelves covering the walls, see if any other models had been added to the collection. Today, however, he felt uneasy, like no matter where he went he felt prickles crawling on his skin. 

He bit his lip, looking intensely at the back of his hyung's head, anxiously waiting for him to recognize his presence there. 

Namjoon turned around on his swivel chair and looked up at Jungkook as if he had grown another head. A beat of silence passed before he opened his mouth to speak, "What?"   

Jungkook blinked and a small weight settled in the pit of his stomach. 

Maybe his question had been a bit weird. Or a lot weird. Maybe it didn't really make all that much sense. Maybe he could've phrased it better, even though he wasn't sure how he'd have done that considering the whole situation was quite complicated on its own already. 

Wanting to help someone without them asking for help and without them knowing you wanted to help was definitely something complicated to deal with. And also weird. 

Once again it hit Jungkook that perhaps he should not get involved. 

Would Hoseok and Yoongi even be comfortable with him mingling in their personal matters or would he just be making a fool of himself for putting so much effort into something he had nothing to do with? He had no way of knowing the answer to those questions and no one to really offer him advice. 

Before he could either make an attempt to repeat his question in a more simplified way or come up with an excuse to bolt out of the room—he was still deciding what the better option was—Namjoon quickly picked up on what he had said.

"Ok, I think I got it," he started, but immediately paused, hands on his chin, brows furrowed. It didn't really seem like he had gotten it, it seemed more like he had slipped into his leader persona and was trying to make sense of what he heard while simultaneously trying to come up with a solution for the issue. "Maybe go to then and mention the subject without making it look like it's about them, I guess? Say 'I was watching TV the other day and saw this thing about fishing and it was pretty cool', or something on those lines. Making it sound like a casual conversation is probably the safest way to do it." 

Talk to them about the thing without making it about them, Jungkook could get behind that, except for the fact that dating a band mate of the same gender wasn't quite like fishing. At all. 

Jungkook grunted again, but this time it sounded more like a strangled whine than anything, and Namjoon shot him a confused glance. 

"It's not a bad idea, I could totally do that, but wouldn't it be weird to just bring the subject up to them like that? We've never talked about it before and I've never shown an interest in it before, they'd just think I'm weird. Or that I'm intruding." 

"Right." Namjoon squinted at him, the look on his face one of pure skepticism. Just what on earth was Jungkook talking about? Sure said subject couldn't be so serious to the point he thought he was going to be judged for suddenly bringing it up. "Listen, Kook, I know it's difficult for you to make friends sometimes, though you have gotten better at it and I'm proud of you, but I can see you're making an effort, an odd type of effort, I should say, but I admire you for being this considerate towards them." 

Jungkook could tell Namjoon was having difficulties trying to understand what he was saying and, being completely honest, he couldn't really blame him. There was no way for the elder to know he was talking about something extremely delicate, therefore his advice wasn't bad, quite the contrary, it would've been fitting for any other situation that involved hobbies or opinions on mundane things. The compliment he received was nice though, and he ducked his head in appreciation, a small smile on his lips. 

"Thank you, hyung," Jungkook said in response to both the compliment and the advice, and scratched his cheek, "but about my problem, that's still not quite it…" 

Namjoon huffed. "Why don't you just walk in on your friend doing whatever it is that they do? Unless it's actually fishing, then that'd be a bit difficult, we don't really have the time to go fishing…" Namjoon mumbled the last part, but Jungkook didn't bother to ask him to speak louder and instead thought about his words, realizing "walk in on them" had a very embarrassing meaning if he thought about the context it'd apply to Hoseok and Yoongi—but not that Namjoon needed to know that, of course. 

Jungkook coughed, aware of the heat that had started creeping up his neck and cheeks and trying to make it go away. 

"Erm… That sounds good, I guess. Thank you, hyung, I think it might work." He said quickly and walked towards the exit, waiving awkwardly at Namjoon. 

Namjoon waved back and his expression made it clear that he didn't fully believe he had helped the younger all that much. Yet, he decided it was better to let it be. "It was no problem, Jungkookie. If you need anything else later don't hesitate to talk to me." 

"Sure thing, hyung!" Jungkook shouted after closing the door and rushed down the hallway, getting away from the studio as fast as he could. 

Despite it seeming like a terrible idea at first, Namjoon's plan wasn't all that bad, all things considered. Jungkook just needed to be careful about the time to approach Yoongi and Hoseok in order not to witness something he didn't want to see. Other than that, it really was the easiest way to breach the subject with the two of them; it ridded him of the responsibility of starting the talk himself. It wasn't the most appropriate and courageous way of doing it, he recognized that, but he had to do what he had to do.

 

 

It wasn't until a few weeks later that Jungkook finally saw the opportunity to put his plan into motion. 

With all the work they had to put in for their comeback he hadn't had the time to focus on Yoongi and Hoseok's relationship, being too engrossed in practicing for their stages and variety shows' appearances. 

In that time he had no choice but to patiently, or as patiently as could, sit put and wait for those endless days to pass, stealing glances at his hyungs during dance practice and opening his ears every time they mentioned going to the studio to record something. He wasn't eavesdropping, excuse him, he merely wanted to collect information on when it'd be better to go looking for them, he needed advice with some of the tracks he was producing, it was all. 

So, when they finally wrapped up their last day of promotions and were graced with the rest of the week free of schedules, Jungkook saw the perfect opportunity to act. 

He started by sending a message to their group chat late morning, still lying on his bed after an amazing and well deserved night of sleep.
 

Jungkook [11:38]
Has anyone seen hobi hyung and yoongi hyung?
I really really really need to talk to them
And I can't find them anywhere ㅠㅠ 
 

Maybe he sounded a bit desperate, a bit over the top, not quite like himself… He smirked. Perfect. 

And then he waited. 

Jungkook knew perfectly fine that they had gone to Yoongi's studio, had overheard them talking in the living room as he was exiting the bathroom after his shower the night prior, but he needed to pretended his whole plan was just a big coincidence. 

Half an hour passed and Jungkook was now pacing aimlessly around his room. What was taking them so long to answer, one of s was bound to know something! 

He huffed and started collecting some discarded pieces of clothing that were strewn on the floor. He didn't even remember if they were clean and needed to be stored away or if they were supposed to go in the washing machine anymore. But at that moment he didn't have the peace of mind to analyze each one of them and separate them into those two groups either, so he simply threw them on his bed, where another small pile of clothes was already at. 

When yet another pile was formed he moved to reorganize the bottles of perfume and lotion he had on the dresser next to his closet. He smelled some of the products, tested how others felt on his skin; maybe he should throw some away? Buy a few others? 

In the middle of his pondering the phone previously discarded on his bed, and now covered by one of his many white shirts, pinged and lit up, and he rushed to recover it and look at the message he received. 
 

Jin hyung [12:04]
Didn't they leave to bighit's building? 

RM hyung [12:06]
Yeah we went to our studios
They should still be around here
Is there something I can help you with jungkook? 

Yoongi hyung [12:06]
I'm at my studio, what's going on 

Hobi hyung [12:06]
I'm at mine too
 

You need help with something jungkookie? 

Jungkook stared at the phone screen. It looked like Hoseok and Yoongi were really working and not even together. 

He hummed pensively. That wasn't what he wanted and now he had to come up with an excuse in order not to raise suspicion. 

He grunted, flopping himself onto his bed, some clothes falling on top of him. 
 

Kookie [12:09]
Ah you're all so busy rn
I just wanted someone to play overwatch with me
Guess I'll go do something useful on my own too then lol
Ttyl 

Hobi hyung [12:10]
Ttyl! (^▽^)/ 

RM hyung [12:10]
Anyways
Drop by if you need help with anything 

Tae hyung [12:48]
How come you didn't ask me to play with you???
I'm hOME
The betrayal 

 

 

Jungkook waited a few more days before continuing with his pla- No, there was no plan, it was all a coincidence, yes. He wasn't stalking the two older rappers or anything, not at all.

It was a normal rainy Saturday morning, a bit past breakfast time, and Jungkook, being the last one to wake up again, was on his own, sitting by the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal in front of him. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

He was munching on a spoonful of cereal, unsuspecting and casually looking at the living room for lack of a better thing to do, when he caught sight of Yoongi and Hoseok sneaking out the front door, careful steps and sideway glances to the hallway included. 

Jungkook's eyes widened immediately and his breath caught in his throat. He had to steady his hand so he wouldn't let the spoon he was holding fall and clink against the porcelain bowl, all the while trying not to choke on his mouthful of cereal. 

He held back a coughing fit the best he could until the couple left the apartment and then he was finally able to breathe again. 

He punched lightly at his own chest to make sure his breathing had indeed returned to normal and quickly downed the rest of his breakfast. He threw the bowl into the sink—someone would scold him for leaving it there later (or for breaking the thing, which he luckily didn't do), but he couldn't care less about it at the moment, there was no time to waste—and rushed back to his room; he was sure his phone was in there somewhere. 

He fetched the device from his bedside table and opened their group chat, but held himself back before typing up something. The two rappers had just left the apartment, there was still a chance they could look at their phones without even having reached the street. 

Jungkook sighed.

It was better to wait a few minutes, maybe an hour if he really wanted to be safe, with the walk to the company building taking up to twenty minutes and all. 

So wait he did, going back to the kitchen to clean his bowl and almost dropping it while rinsing it given how anxious and excited he felt. 

Fortunately he was able to catch it before it shattered on the floor. He stopped in a funny pose, slightly bent to the side and with one arm outstretched towards the ground, and pouted dramatically as no one was there to witness his amazing form and even more amazing reflexes. 

He mumbled under his breath and placed the bowl on the dish rack. After wiping his hands on his pants he reached for the phone he had left on top of the counter. 
 

Jungkook [10:04 am]
Has anyone seen hobi hyung and yoongi hyung? 

Jin hyung [10:12 am]
Again?
Are you up to something jeon jungkook? 

Jungkook [10:12 am]
Of course not
But I just saved one of our bowls from shattering into a million pieces
It was pretty impressive if I do say so myself 

Tae hyung [10:13 am]
Yes he is!
He's going to play overwatch with them, the traitor
I'm going back home so don't start playing yet
Wait for me
WAIT FOR ME 

Jin hyung [10:13 am]
You two do whatever you want, just don't destroy our home while we're away 

Tae hyung [10:25 am]
LOOK AT HIM
HE'S NOT SAYING ANYTHING
I TRUSTED HIM 

Jin hyung [10:25 am]
It's been ten minutes tae, he's probably distracted with another bowl
You know how weird he is sometimes 

Tae hyung [10:25 am]
NO
HE'S TOO BUSY PLAYING TO ANSWER ME
But you're right
He's so extra ㅋㅋㅋ
Maybe he's fighting with the kitchen appliances
OR MAYBE HE'S PLAYING AND IGNORING ME 

Jin hyung [10:25 am]
… 

Jimin [10:38 am]
I-
Sighs
I'll play with you later taetae
And jungkookie I think they went to yoongi hyung's studio
I heard them talking about it yesterday 

Jungkook [10:38 am]
Thanks hyung!!!

Tae hyung [10:38 am]
THANK YOU JIMINNIE
ILY (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ♡ 

Jin hyung [10:44 am]
I'm glad I decided to take the day off from all of you (–_– ;) 
 

Jungkook dashed out of his room, almost smashing himself against the door frame in the process. 

He put on his shoes that were thrown haphazardly next to the dorm's entrance and left, the door closing with a loud bang that were without a doubt going to alert the others in the apartment that he was leaving. Good, he thought, the more people assuming he was really eager to meet with his two hyungs the better. 

He ran all the way down to the street, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and jumping two steps at a time. 

When he finally got into a cab he was sweaty and panting, half from excitement and half from exertion. He blurted out Bighit's building address all out of breath and the driver shot him an odd look through the rearview mirror, obviously startled by his state. To his relief, the man didn't say anything other than mumble an ok to his request and started the car. 

Jungkook smiled sheepishly and had half a mind to attempt fixing his disheveled hair.

 

 

He entered the building through its huge glass doors, looking from side to side, as if he'd never been there before, in a mix of eagerness and anxiousness. To his left a pair of couches surrounded by a set of indoor plants in white ceramic vases made for a waiting area. On the right he could see the elevators a bit further ahead and the reception desk in front. 

Jungkook was panting softly, like he was late for an important meeting and had ran as fast as he could there, but he willed himself to take a few deep breaths before determinedly marching to the right. 

His fingers were still wringing as he gave his identification at the reception desk—there were some formalities they always needed to follow for security, and he wasn't complaining about them, but if only it could be faster… 

The lady behind the counter took his ID card with a worried look on her face and asked him if he was feeling alright, if she should call one of his hyungs or one of the managers. Jungkook rushed to say that he was fine, waving his hands in front of him in a "no" motion. He made up an excuse about just being excited to go work on some songs and the lady nodded and smiled at him, understanding. 

"Work hard and have a good day, Jungkook-sii!" She said when handing him his ID back. 

"Thank you, you too!" He replied with a bow and then he was off to the nearest elevator. 

He got out on the floor that had been designated for the company's studios, which also included his own, of course, and he grinned at the thought, proud of himself for having a place to call his, just like his hyungs. 

He found himself in front of his studio, hand resting on the door. Then, as if struck by lightning, he shook his head from side to size, realizing he was starting to get off track. He forced himself to hide the dumb smile he had plastered on his face and turned around, walking in the other direction towards Yoongi's studio. 

Jungkook didn't dare enter the place, he stopped in front of the locked door and waited. He considered typing in the code into the electronic lock like he had done many times before, but his fear of walking in on something happening between the two people inside made him reconsider his options. 

He could just knock on the door, like any normal person would, but how would that help him accomplish anything? He stared at the ground in concentration, raised a hand to his chin and scratched it slightly. 

Jungkook was yanked out of his thoughts by muffled thuds coming from the inside. One of his eyebrows shot up in confusion, wasn't this studio supposed to be sound proof? Just how loud were those two being? 

"You're just so cute, hyung!" Jungkook faintly heard Hoseok cooing. 

"Hoseokie, come on, we came here to work!" Yoongi whined in response and Jungkook automatically added that to his list of "most adorable sounds he had ever heard". 

"But kissing you is so much better!" Hoseok sing sang, kissing noises and all and probably also accompanied by grabby hands, Jungkook assumed and snorted at the idea. 

A dull thud followed right after that and Hoseok let out an overly dramatic pained noise—Yoongi had shoved him against his desk, or had shoved the desk against Hoseok, Jungkook couldn't tell, but he snorted again, loudly and unconstrained this time, certain that it still wasn't loud enough to be heard from the other side. 

"Let's go back to work, Hoseok-ah, we'll have plenty of time to kiss later." Yoongi chuckled and with that Jungkook assumed it was safe to go inside. 

He typed in the code and the door unlocked before him with a beep and a soft click. As he stepped inside he was met with the sight of Hoseok pressing Yoongi against the desk and kissing him. His eyes went wide just in time as the other two turned to him with matching expressions of pure shock. 

Jungkook scrambled backwards, hitting a shelf with his hips and causing some trinkets to shake and threaten to fall out of it. He grabbed the piece of furniture with both hands in a meek attempt to stabilize it while his mouth opened and closed trying to come up with some sort of excuse. Unfortunately, "sorry, I was just walking by and wanted to say hi to you" or "I just wanted to ask for some help with this one track I'm working with, but I guess you're both busy" didn't seem to cut it for him. 

While Jungkook fumbled with both himself and the studio's appliances the two rappers stood in absolute silence, frozen in fear with hearts hammering in their chests and blood rushing to their ears. 

They took a few seconds to fully process what had just happened and rushed to detangle themselves from each other's arms. 

Yoongi squished himself further against the desk while Hoseok flew to the other side of the room, landing on the gray couch on the corner. 

No one said a thing, the three of them staring at each other and waiting for someone to break the silence and cut through the awkwardness. 

The two elders had wide eyes and Hoseok was staring right at Jungkook, mouth partially open, teeth grinding. Yoongi didn't look much different, but he was staring down at his legs as if afraid or ashamed of facing the younger. 

Hoseok remained silent, there was no use saying it wasn't what Jungkook thought he had seen when it clearly was what he saw, and again, Yoongi wasn't reacting much better, his mind was racing, thoughts bundling together and making his palms sweaty and shaky. The shock of being caught, the dread of the others finding out, the media finding out, and their careers being at risk because of it, the need to come up with any excuse to tell Jungkook and convince him not to rattle on them, it was all too much. 

"Even if you think this is disgusting, Jungkook," Yoongi started in a strangled voice, shaking from head to toe. Hoseok sent him a sideways glance, worried, "even if you now hate us, please don't tell anyone. Please." He pleaded, looking up at Jungkook with tears threatening to spill from his eyes, nose already reddening at the tip. 

To say Jungkook was taken aback by Yoongi's reaction was an understatement. Yoongi rarely begged, rarely showed such a strong display of emotions. He was always calm and collected, explaining his thoughts with security and confidence and letting only his songs be the ones overtook by an onslaught of raw emotions. 

Seeing Yoongi's trembling form and how Hoseok seemed ready to run to his aid and comfort him, but held back wary of the possibility that the act could impact Jungkook's opinions on them even more, made Jungkook realize how important their relationship meant to them, how much they must have struggled to accept their feelings and keep them hidden from everyone else. 

On a whim, Jungkook hurried to stand in from of Yoongi. His arms shot up, reaching to touch the elder and envelop him in a hug, but the last bit of self-control he still had made him stop on his tracks and drop his arms back down. Instead, he fiddled with his fingers and soon a mess of words burst out of his mouth, "It's okay, hyung, it's really okay. I'm not gonna say anything, I promise." 

Jungkook seemed as shaken up as Yoongi, desperate to show he wasn't disgusted by them and had no intent of purposely doing something to hurt them. 

Hoseok diverted his eyes from Yoongi to him, head cocked to the side. 

The dancer took a deep breath and went towards the other two. He looked up, took another breath, and patted Jungkook on the shoulder. "Thank you, Kook." 

Yoongi seemed to immediately calm down, like all he needed was Hoseok's approval of the younger, and a sigh of relieve left Jungkook, causing his knees to go weak after all the tension had left his body. 

Hoseok grabbed his arm in fear he'd actually fall down and Jungkook quickly straightened himself and gently removed Hoseok's hand from him, muttering out an apology. He had already made a huge mess and he didn't really need to add Hoseok helping him stay up on his feet to the list. He should be the one to help his hyungs, not the opposite. 

Jungkook regained his balance and, as confidently as he could, stared at the two elders, "I'd never judge you, hyungs. If you two want to be together, and even if you don't, I'll support you no matter what."

 

 

From then onward the three of them became closer. 

Not to say that they weren't close before, because they were, all of them in BTS were, but what they now had was different from their relationships with others. 

They had secrets and inside jokes they wouldn't tell anyone else, they'd go out to eat together more frequently, they'd visit each other's studios even if they didn't have anything in particular they were working on, they'd pile up in each other's beds and stay there for hours on end, talking nonsense, cuddling, humming to the pop songs playing on Jungkook's Bluetooth speakers, napping. 

Obviously, the change in their relationship didn't go by unnoticed by the others, but they simply chose not to comment on it, deeming nothing serious was going on and the trio had probably just found some common interests. 

It was that line of thought that made Namjoon glance distractedly at them during dance practice one day. 

Hoseok, Yoongi and Jungkook were huddled up in a corner of the dance studio, sitting with their backs against the big wall mirror and laughing at something on one of their phones, completely oblivious to the world around them. 

They were cackling up, Hoseok nearly toppling over and Jungkook hitting their arms in the way he did when he got too excited over something. Yoongi's reaction was nowhere near as scandalous as the other two's, but he had a huge grin on his face and his eyes seemed to be dripping with fondness every time he looked at the raucous duo. 

Namjoon took a sip from his water bottle, hiding the small upturn of his lips. He was content s seemed to getting along so well. 

Maybe the elusive friend Jungkook talked to him about wasn't just one person, but two. 

If asked, Jungkook would absolutely confirm it.

 

 

"Jungkook, are you done yet?" Taehyung shouted from the living room. He was sitting by the coffee table, laptop in front of him and opened to a new match of Overwatch. 

"Yes! Hang on a moment, I'm coming." Jungkook exclaimed as we walked down the hallway, carrying not one, but two laptops, and with Yoongi trailing behind him. 

Taehyung raised a brow, "Is Yoongi hyung going to play with us today?" 

Jungkook hummed and sat opposite to Taehyung, then set Yoongi's laptop by his side. Yoongi's expression was unreadable and he assumed his spot next to the maknae without muttering a word. 

Not even half a minute passed before Hoseok appeared from the kitchen, carrying a popcorn bowl and a cup of coffee. He plopped himself on the couch where Jungkook and Yoongi had their backs resting on and placed the coffee on the table next to Yoongi.

Taehyung looked at the scene dumbfounded, confusion growing. To be fair, he pondered, it wasn't too unusual for Yoongi to join them on their game nights from time to time, and it also wasn't that weird of Hoseok to hover over them and watch. 

He shrugged and dismissed any doubts he had about the situation, yelling, "I hope you two are ready to get your asses kicked!" 

Jungkook cackled and pulled Yoongi into a one-armed hug, "Bring it on!"

 

 

Yoongi, Hoseok and Jungkook were in the living room, immersed on their phones as per usual and sitting on the large couch facing the TV. A movie was playing, but it served more as background noise than entertainment considering none of them seemed to be paying attention to it. Hoseok was sat in the middle with Yoongi's head resting on his shoulder, and Jungkook, on his other side, had his legs sprawled on top of the other two's laps. 

Jin walked in through the front door without catching their attention and stared at them with a raised eyebrow. 

A couple of hours prior he had encountered the three of them in the same position and had invited them to accompany him to the new restaurant that had opened down the street. He had received a small "sorry, hyung, I'm a bit tired" from Hoseok, the only one who bothered to say something back to him, while the other two remained with their heads casted low and fixed on their phone screens. 

Now that he was back, nothing seemed to have changed, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Weren't their necks hurting? Have they had something to eat? Were their minds still in this world? What were they even looking so intently at? 

Jin shook his head and sighed. Why were they like this. 

He huffed. There was no point in trying to make sense of what they were doing, it was probably not that interesting anyways. 

He yawned and ruffled his hair. It'd be better if he just went to his room and took a quick nap before deciding what to order for dinner.

 

 

Jungkook knocked on the door of Jimin and Hoseok's room. A "yes" reverberated through the walls and he turned the doorknob, sticking his head in the small opening and looking inside. 

For a moment he didn't say anything, eyes simply scanning the room in search of something. Jimin put the book he was reading down and stared at him as if urging him to get to the point already. 

"Do you need something?" 

Jungkook seemed to pulled out of his daze and whipped his head towards Jimin's bed, looking at him with wide eyes, like he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. 

"Ah, no, I was just looking for Hobi hyung, but I guess he isn't here." 

"Didn't he have a date with Yoongi hyung? I think he went to his room to tell him he was ready and they could go." Jimin replied, picking his book up again. 

Before Jungkook could say anything Hoseok appeared next to him with Yoongi right in tow and tapped him on his back. "We're good to go, are you ready?" 

Jungkook looked at him over his shoulder and nodded, smiling wide and eyes crinkling. 

"Oh, Jimin, don't bother leaving the bedside table lamp on, I don't know when we'll be back. But have a nice evening!" Hoseok waved at him and closed the door with a soft click. 

Jimin's mouth fell slightly open and his book slipped back onto his lap.

 

 

Things were going well. 

Jungkook had gotten even closer to Hoseok and Yoongi and he had come to appreciate the time spent with them, be it by going out to try a new restaurant or just staying back at the dorms counting the number of threads in their carpet and giggling about it. 

As loud and energetic as the two elders could be sometimes, they still valued their alone and rest times, choosing to stay indoors in a quiet atmosphere more often than not, and Jungkook saw himself falling into this same routine rather easily. 

Taking more time for himself provided him with more opportunities to work on his songs, to learn new techniques for his GCF videos and even get some footage for them; the fans seemed to really enjoy watching Yoongi sleep or Hoseok begin a set of random dance moves in the middle of a conversation, and it wasn't difficult at all for Jungkook to admit that he could see where they were coming from, those two could be extremely fascinating and endearing even when doing the most mundane and random stuff. 

Things were going so well that eventually Jungkook saw his feelings for the couple changing. 

Sure he admired them, and loved them as friends, and wanted them to be happy. Hoseok and Yoongi were wonderful people, funny and caring and insightful, and he liked being around them, liked their company, liked talking with them, liked lying around and doing nothing with them. 

Without further warning, dread had pooled low in his stomach as the realization downed on him. 

What had started as him simply wanting to show support to his hyung's relationship had took unexpected turns and backfired on him. 

As he lay on his bed he stared intently at the ceiling, arms partially draped over his eyes. The pressure caused by his arms made his vision slightly wobbly, yet he squinted, trying to make out some pattern on the flat white surface hoping it would shed some light on his troubled mind. 

Lost in thoughts, he didn't notice the door opening, and Hoseok and Yoongi walked in, laughing and talking animatedly to each other. Jungkook turned to the sound with a startle. 

"Hey, Kook," Hoseok greeted and dived into the bed by his side. Jungkook's breath hitched. The elder didn't seem to notice it, however, and continued, "We're going out to have some drinks, wanna come?" 

Jungkook looked at him for a brief second, almost being blinded by his huge smile, then at Yoongi, who was waiting patiently at the foot of the bed. 

He gulped and stayed quiet for a moment, seemingly thinking about the invite, and sent a quick glance at his window; the sun had just begun setting. 

Hoseok and Yoongi were most likely going somewhere downtown, start their night out in a calm pub where they could talk for a couple of hours and eat something, then move to a busier place, with music playing overhead and people dancing. He didn't recall having any schedules the following day, so they'd probably be out for a big part of the night. 

As it usually happened, Yoongi would probably ask to go home earlier, not being a fan of staying out once he started feeling tipsy. Yoongi wasn't much into dancing either, at least not in public, and that would also influence his decision to leave. But, from the times Jungkook accompanied them, he didn't miss the way the elder seemed to enjoy watching his boyfriend sway to the rhythm of the music and lose himself on the dance floor. 

Odds were Hoseok would not oppose going back home, it was what happened most of the times when he was with them too. Hoseok's mood after drinking could be summed up as either "endless pit of energy" or "endless list of regrets of every decision he had ever made", so when the first one kicked in Yoongi would usually say that Hoseok, or Hoseok and Jungkook, could stay and enjoy the night, and that he'd be okay going back on his own. 

From experience, the few times where they decided to listen to Yoongi they also had to hear from him the following day, the elder pouting because he wanted cuddles and instead had to sleep in his cold bed all alone (Yoongi would halfheartedly deny everything after the effects of the alcohol had left his system, but Jungkook and Hoseok knew better). 

This all led to his current predicament. 

He should say yes, he really should. Get up, take a quick shower, find a nice outfit in his messy closet and walk out the door with the two elders; it wasn't anything different from what they've been doing for the past few weeks. Problem was, he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

Opposed to that, having to explain why he was suddenly feeling down and would rather stay at home didn't seem like an appealing option either. 

Bottom line was he couldn't get himself to be in their company like that anymore. What once was simple, relaxing and enjoyable now caused his heart to constrict painfully in his chest and, sadly for him, he couldn't open up about it to the two people he had started to rely more on, given that they were also the cause of his troubles. 

He smiled, hoping it didn't look as faked and forced as he felt it did, and shook his head no. He wanted to take some time to rest, was what he said, and Hoseok didn't press further. 

Similarly, Yoongi just shrugged and they left the room promising Jungkook to bring him some take out for dinner. 

Jungkook stared at the door closing and ran a hand through his face. He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into his pillow and letting out a muffled scream.

 

 

Later that night Jungkook was lounging in the living room, lying on the couch, phone in hands. He was catching up to the latest releases of the anime season, a bag of crispy seaweed resting on his stomach as he watched yet another episode and munched on the lightly seasoned snack. 

With headphones on and attention focused on the fight scene on his phone screen he didn't take notice of Hoseok and Yoongi stumbling through the front door, and only realized he wasn't alone anymore when a body fell on top his, causing him to drop the seaweed bag on the floor. 

With an oof Jungkook tried to recover the air that had left his lungs and sat up. He removed his headphones and stared at the slightly flushed face of Hoseok, who was now hugging his torso like he was a teddy bear. 

Yoongi walked towards them, almost tripping over his own feet but successfully making his way to the snack on the floor. He picked the bag up and plopped a seaweed sheet into his mouth, then sat at the edge of the couch, munching away and staring at the other two with rosy cheeks and heavy eyes. 

"Kookie," Hoseok sing sang, "we want to talk to you." 

Jungkook didn't say anything back, instead just maneuvered Hoseok and himself so he could sit more comfortably. 

Idly he noticed Yoongi had a plastic bag hanging from his arm, now apparently forgotten as the man continued to stuff his face with seaweed. It was the take out they had promised him. Jungkook felt a wave of fondness wash over him and he mindlessly hugged Hoseok back. 

Hoseok took that as a sign to continue, "You know how you walked in on us a while ago, and we begged you not to say anything to the others-" 

"We didn't beg, we calmly asked him." Yoongi interrupted quickly and Jungkook could swear the blush on the elder's cheeks had deepened. 

Even inebriated Yoongi still tried to keep his composed image and Jungkook would've snorted if he didn't feel like his stomach was tying itself into knots inside of him. 

"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Hoseok planted a kiss on Yoongi's pouty lips and turned to Jungkook again, "So, Jungkookie, I think it's time the others find out about it too, what do you think?" He asked, moving a finger forwards to touch Jungkook's chest. 

Jungkook looked down, staring at the digit and almost going cross-eyed, and then looked back up, straight into Hoseok's eyes. He couldn't decipher what the man was thinking, was that really what they wanted or was that just the alcohol speaking? 

"I mean," He scratched his cheek, "if that's what you want and think it's what's best for you, I'll support you, hyung." 

The pang in his chest after he said those words was almost impossible to ignore. He was happy the two had finally decided to trust the others with their secret and would hopefully stop worrying about showing too much affection in front of them, but that meant he'd probably have to cut on the time he spent with them as well. If the two came out as a couple the others would find it weird that he was always around them, would think he was getting in their way. 

"Yay! Thank you, Jungkookie, we love you!" Hoseok's hug around him tightened and he could feel him beaming through the thin layer of his shirt. Yoongi gave his leg a few small pats and got up, untangling Hoseok from him with some difficulty and dragging him to his room. 

Jungkook was left alone in the living room, bag of seaweed snacks empty and a heavy heart that made him want to cry.

 

 

Days passed by and Hoseok and Yoongi did end up telling the others about their relationship. 

As Jungkook expected, the response they got couldn't have been more positive. Obviously, given his proximity with the duo, he also earned himself a few punches on his arms, courtesy of Jimin, for knowing about the secret before anyone else did. 

All in all, it was like a thin and barely visible veil had been lifted from Bangtan's dorm and everyone could finally breathe easier. 

Everyone except for Jungkook. 

He had thought about his feelings again and again, spent sleepless nights trying to pour it all out on lyrics as if that'd help him make sense of what was going on in his heart and ultimately make whatever it was stop. 

He couldn't tell anymore if what he felt was love or just admiration and respect. 

Maybe he was just confused? 

He couldn't even tell which one of them he liked the most if asked to pick one. So that meant he only liked them as friends. Or as a family member. You can't choose a favorite child, or a favorite parent. It made sense. It couldn't be romantic, it was impossible to love more than one person like that, right? Right?? 

Who was he kidding. 

He couldn't just go to them and say "hey, so I think I like both of you, but you guys are already together so there's nothing to be done about it really, but I just wanted you to know, you know, so things don't get awkward". It'd be ridiculous and his hyungs would only look at him with pity and reassure him that they still liked him as a friend, as a little brother, and that he deserved someone who could love him back. 

Decidedly, Jungkook wasn't keen on putting himself through any of that. He was going to keep his mouth shut instead, lock it and throw away the key, hoping that his feelings would weaken and be whisked away.

 

 

A week later Jungkook found himself cupped up in his studio, working on some melodies for the lyrics he had written previously when his heart had started spiraling into that turmoil that still plagued him. 

He had lost count of how many hours he'd been in there, maybe days had passed already, and with a bitter laugh he took note of how similar to Yoongi he was acting; isolating himself for days on end and surviving on coffee and instant ramen. The only difference was that he didn't have Hoseok to scold him and drag him back home. He sneered. 

He was taken out of his self-pitying state by a knock on the door. 

"Come in," he said in a soft voice and pretended to go back to working on the file opened on his computer. 

Jimin stood by the entrance, arms crossed. 

"So you really knew about them already." It was phrased more like an observation than a question. 

Jungkook turned to look at him, unable to figure out what Jimin meant by that. 

"You did a good job keeping their secret, I bet they were really on edge about the whole thing and unsure if they should open up to us or not. I think you helped them a lot just by being by their side." 

"I just care about them, it was the least I could do." 

"About that… You knew they were dating but still spent a lot of time with them, wasn't it a bit weird for you? Didn't you feel like you were third wheeling them?" 

Jungkook scratched the back of his neck, an act Jimin was for sure going to associate with him being nervous about sharing his experiences with the couple. 

"No?" He didn't intend for it to sound like a question, but it happened and now Jimin had an eyebrow raised. He cleared his throat, "I mean, it wasn't weird and I definitely didn't feel like a third wheel. It's not like they were doing anything in front of me anyways." 

The tone of his voice showed the slightest bit of disappointment in it, but it didn't seem like Jimin had caught it, or, if he did, he didn't comment on it, probably not knowing what to make of it. Call him creepy, but he wished, on the back of his mind, that Yoongi and Hoseok had in fact done something I front of him. 

"As long as you were fine with it, I guess." Jimin shrugged. 

And Jungkook had been fine with it. 

Was still fine with it. 

Or that was what he'd been telling himself ever since his whole plan turned into shambles.

 

 

In light of everything, Jungkook needed time to breath and understand his feelings more than ever. 

Scenes of him moping around, purposefully spending more hours at dance practice or in his studio just so he didn't have to face anyone who would so much as to ask him what was going on, became a regular occurrence.

It wasn't the best course of action, he was fairly aware of that, but it was the best he could manage in order to clear his mind when living with six other people who cared for him and were undoubtedly worried about his recent behavior. 

They had a prolonged weekend before the set of concerts scheduled for the following week and the boys found themselves with some much needed free time. Part of the group chose to go out with friends, maybe have a quick trip back home if they could find a plane ticket last minute. Jungkook, and two other members, chose to stay at the dorms. 

Jungkook should've seen it coming, he really should've; when he voiced his decision of not going out to catch up on sleep instead—which in reality was just an excuse for him to be left alone—it was obvious that the others would plan something to get him to talk and, given his proximity with the newly announced couple, it was only natural that Yoongi and Hoseok would be the ones to stay behind with him and do it. 

He was in his room, headphones on and laptop on the bed in front of him, running through some footage for his next GCF video. He had found out editing served as a relaxing activity for him, organizing layers, playing with colors and transition effects, it all helped take his mind out of issues he didn't immediately have a solution for. 

The playlist of R&B songs blasting in his ears was the finishing deed to completely isolate him from the world around him. 

Unable to hear any other sounds in his surroundings it wasn't surprising that he failed to notice when two people walked into his room. Only when two pairs of legs were caught in his peripheral vision did he look up. 

His expression didn't reveal anything and as calmly as possible he saved the video he was working on, stopped the song that was playing and moved his headphones to place them around his neck. 

He finally turned to look at his two visitors, sighing and already preparing himself for the talk he didn't want to have. 

Hoseok was the first to move, smoothly grabbing Jungkook's notebook and headphones and setting them on the bedside table. 

While doing so, his hands briefly brushed Jungkook's neck and the younger gulped, flinching slightly. Hoseok didn't seem to take notice of it, but at his side Yoongi bit his lip. To Jungkook it came as a surprise, but also as some sort of relief, knowing that the elder seemed as nervous as he himself was. 

A comforting hand was placed on Jungkook's thigh and he felt warmth spread through his body. Hoseok gave the muscle a soft squeeze, sat at the edge of the bed and spoke in a soothing voice, "Something has been bothering you, Kook, you know you can tell us anything." 

He didn't sound like he was hurt by Jungkook's recent avoidance, but he seemed concerned, like he was hurting because Jungkook was hurting. 

Jungkook wished he could just turn to the side a bit, wind up his arms around Hoseok's torso and give in to his tight embrace. 

But he couldn't do that, it wasn't appropriate, not with Yoongi being in the picture as well, so he bit his lips and stayed stock still, willing his heart to calm down a bit. 

"I thought we were getting closer to each other these past few weeks, don't you trust us?" 

Yoongi's question came as a surprise and his eyes were wide in worry. Perhaps Jungkook could even see some betrayal in them as well. A frown was also present on the elder's forehead and his lips were jutting out in a pout. 

Jungkook heard himself groan and there was nothing he could do if the other two had also heard it. He was weak for that pout, he was week for Yoongi in general, and seeing it so close to him made him feel guilty for ignoring and denying his own feelings for so long. It didn't feel right to hide anything from the elder. 

And truth be told, he was tired. He couldn't find a solution on his own, couldn't stop walking in circles without finding answers. It was enough. 

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, straightened his legs out and his feet bumped into Hoseok's thighs as he did it. 

"I'm in love with both of you." 

It came out so naturally, way easier to say than he thought it would be, and the relief he felt was immediate. 

He didn't realize he was grinning until he looked at the man sitting in front of him. 

Hoseok was sporting a smile of his own, small, but fond and so, so warm Jungkook closed his eyes, tilting his head backwards and basking in the moment.

A weight was added on top of him and when he opened his eyes he was met with black, fluffy strands of hair. 

Yoongi was sitting on his lap, legs on each side of him, head resting on his shoulder, hugging him. 

"We love you too." Yoongi whispered against his neck and after the initial shock Jungkook smiled so wide he thought his face was going to split in half. 

Pure affection bubbled up inside him and he didn't think twice before hugging Yoongi back, tight, and placing a delicate kiss on the top of his head. 

Soon after another pair of arms closed itself around him and Yoongi, and Hoseok's scent and heat invaded their senses, comforting. 

Jungkook sighed happily, squeezed the other two in his arms and closed his eyes.

 

 

The following morning started like it normally did; everyone had woken up early and they were reunited in the kitchen. 

When Hoseok, Yoongi and Jungkook entered the room, laughing and talking to each other as if the last few weeks had been nothing more than some sort of collective hallucination, they were met with the stares of the other members who were sitting at the kitchen isle, munching on toast or eating from their cereal bowls. 

It wasn't unusual for any of them to exchange a few words with each other so early in the day, or even indulge in some small talk before heading out for their daily schedule, but the trio looked uncharacteristically giddy that morning. 

Taehyung casted a quick glance at the window behind him, checking if there was something in the weather. It was winter after all, so maybe the magic of Christmas had come earlier this year. The sun was out, but it was as chill as expected, the faintly bright rays casting a cold light in their kitchen. 

Having Jungkook and Yoongi looking so awake in such conditions was a rare sign and he was fairly sure not even Hoseok's contagious good mood was enough to have an effect on it. He was puzzled by this turn of events, but had no chance to voice it out. 

Namjoon finished chewing, a piece of toast halfway to his mouth, "You guys seem extremely lively today," contrary to Taehyung he sounded pleased with the situation, "guess it was a good idea to send these two to talk to you, Jungkook-ah." 

They had talked, they really had. What the others didn't know, however, is that it had happened under comfy blankets, with fingers running through soft strands of hair and fingertips softly caressing the skin. 

Jungkook felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the memory. He was finally happy and at ease. 

No one seemed to have any of idea of what had taken place the day before since when they arrived back at the dorm it was already past the time Yoongi, Jungkook and Hoseok had went to sleep, cuddled in each other's arms. Jimin certainly didn't find Hoseok's absence in their room out of the ordinary; it wasn't anything new for the man to spend his nights in Yoongi's room. 

They were all oblivious and Jungkook couldn't say that he was upset about it. 

It wasn't that Jungkook didn't trust them with his new secret, he just wanted a bit of privacy for a while, some time to enjoy life with his two new boyfriends without receiving funny looks from the others. 

Jungkook looked at Yoongi and Hoseok, content, unabashedly, and smirked, "I guess so."