Jimin could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he sat hunched over on the cold floor of the dance studio. He was bent over at the waist and he had his head between his knees, trying to pull in as much oxygen as his burning lungs could take. He faintly remembered hearing the sound of his own strangled gasps as he felt his pulse in every inch of his skin. He could hear his every heartbeat reverberating in his ears. His hands were shaking and his his stomach felt weak. It was overwhelming.

His muscles were perpetually tensed and it hurt. It hurt a lot. His hands were clammy and sweat slicked as he tried to sweep his bangs out of his eyes, though his trembling did little to make that possible. His head felt fuzzy, almost as if he were underwater. There was a certain pressure on him that was hard to explain. It felt like he had a great weight on his chest and that he couldn’t breathe properly. His arms and legs felt heavy and sluggish and though he could move his body the way he wanted, it still felt like he was out of control. Like he'd never really been in control.

He could hear Hoseok and Taehyung fooling around from the other side of the practice room. He could hear Seokjin and Namjoon slowly counting through the beats of their new song as they practiced the dance steps despite the fact that Seongdeuk had decided to give them a break. He could hear Jeongguk singing to himself as he went through their choreography step by step, trying to build up his stamina for live performances that would start soon. He could hear it all but at the same time he couldn’t. Everything felt distant but yet so vivid.

Jimin decided to close his eyes and focus on counting his heartbeats. He remember doing it had helped him calm down in the past. He barely got past ten when he felt a warm hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles into his skin. His mind cleared up and he suddenly found it much easier to count - only a few minutes passed before he realised he could breathe again. He slowly opened his eyes and wiped the last remnants of sweat from his hands onto his grey sweatpants before he looked to his right.

Yoongi was sat beside him, with his hand still rubbing soothingly on Jimin's back, but he wasn’t looking at Jimin. Instead his eyes were focused on Namjoon and Seokjin who were still practicing the choreography. Seokjin wasn’t doing too bad but Namjoon was waving his arms about wildly and only a few more beats passed before he managed to somehow elbow Seokjin in the temple. Yoongi snorted and shook his head as Jimin found himself chuckling at the sight before him. It felt nice to be able to breathe and to laugh and to just be. He could hear the music blaring from the speakers, he could hear Hoseok and Taehyung being silly, he could hear the maknae singing to himself but – most importantly of all – he could hear. The sound of his heartbeat thumping in his ears was only a faint memory right now though he knew it was only a matter of time before he would hear it again.

“Alright?” he heard Yoongi ask him in a soft whisper. It always amazed Jimin how Yoongi seemed to know exactly how he felt even when Jimin didn't know it himself. It always amazed him how Yoongi seemed to know exactly how to help even when Jimin didn't know it himself. It always amazed how Yoongi seemed to know exactly how to dive and how to swim and how to pull him above the waters that had been trying to pull him under even when Jimin didn't know himself.

“Alright.” Jimin whispered back equally soft before he threw a timid smile at Yoongi. Jimin still felt faint and he could still feel the remnants of the current that had threatened to drag him under lapping at his feet but his Yoongi was next to him and talking to him and looking out for him. His hyung's hand was still on his back and it felt like an anchor. For the first time in a while Jimin could feel the ground under his feet again.

Everything was alright. For now.