It was on Jungkook’s third year with Jin, Yoongi, Namjoon, Hoseok, and Taehyung. This boy made him so insecure the first time he walked into their practice as a group. He was good, excellent, at dancing—and Hoseok was always better than him, but he was never jealous of the older because he had been dancing a lot longer than Jungkook ever did. And, the new meat had a nice voice too. Jungkook’s was still better for now, but he felt like this new boy would reach his skill in a blink of an eye—Taehyung and Jin were vocalists too, but they had different character, different feeling whenever everyone heard them singing. The new boy was more social than Jungkook was during the first time he came to Seoul. The new boy was even more social than Jungkook even after the maknae had been hanging out there for almost two years. And, to make it even worse, the new boy had determination in his eyes that fascinated the hyungs.

“Jimin. Park Jimin,” he shook Taehyung’s hand that was sitting with Jungkook at the practice room with an eye smile that no one could escape from.

Taehyung stared in awe for a while. He was always the first to approach the other trainees. But this time, someone actually did beat him on that.

“Woah, pretty eyes,” Taehyung said without controlling his expression, “Kim Taehyung!” Taehyung replied after he managed to gather his sense back. “Where are you from?”

“Can you recognize it from my dialect?” he asked smiley.

Taehyung turned to Jungkook. “It’s similar to yours on your first day,” he said to Jungkook before turning back to Jimin, “Busan?”

Jimin nodded happily. “Is your friend from Busan too?” he asked with excitement laced in his voice.

Jungkook nodded slightly and stood up and shook his hands. “Jeon Jungkook,” he introduced in a polite manner.

“Ey, why are you so polite, chingu?” Jimin said.

Taehyung stood up and shook his head. “He’s only fifteen. That makes you his hyung, right?”

“Ah, right! You are so cute, Jungkook-shi!” Jimin squealed and Jungkook only smiled slightly.

“So, chingu?” Taehyung said and waited for Jimin’s respond. When the other boy turned to him with bright excited eyes, Taehyung chuckled. “Let me show you around!” Taehyung beamed as he dragged Jimin out of the room.

Jungkook watched their backs disappeared behind the door slowly with the chatters they made as they tried to get to know each other. But a few seconds later, Taehyung came back inside and looked at him.

“Aren’t you coming?” he asked cluelessly.

Jungkook smiled and shook his head. “I’ll practice a bit more. You go first. I’ll catch you up at the dorm, hyung.” He waved his hand for him not to worry so much about him.

Taehyung nodded and left the room again.

Jungkook always thought himself as the moon; quietly lit up the world at night, while Taehyung was always the sun. Although he was bright, Jungkook could still compete with Taehyung’s brightness, could still walk side by side with him. But, that wasn’t how the world went on. The moon only showed up at night, and the sun showed up during day. And, Jimin completed Taehyung’s brightness; they became one brightest star in the whole universe. So, Jungkook thought, he could never walk side by side with the sun anymore.

“Do you hate me?” Jimin asked after six months of joining the group.

Jungkook looked up from his phone and frowned. “What—No, of course. Who said that?”

Jimin shrugged before sitting across of him. “Nobody. But, you always avoided me. And, Taehyung also said you weren’t like this before.”

Jungkook breathed. That’s because I can’t compete myself with you and Taehyung. “Puberty, I guess,” he answered recklessly.

“You’re fifteen,” Jimin denied.

“Maybe it comes a little bit early.”

Jimin sighed in frustration and shook his head. “Do you hate me?” he repeated his question—like an idiot, Jungkook admitted.

“Hyung—no! I am like this toward new people—“

“Well, we’re not so new anymore, are we?” There was sadness in his eyes and Jungkook wondered if it was real.

“Okay,” Jungkook gave up, “can I ask you something?” Jungkook asked carefully and when Jimin nodded his head aggressively, he continued, “Do you really want to be close with me?”

“Of course! I think you’re cute!”

Jungkook chuckled. You are cute. “Hyung, I’m not good to be friends with. You can ask the other hyungs. It took Yoongi hyung being arrested for me to finally open up to them—“

“I’ll take a beating for Jungkook-ie,” he said carelessly, without thinking.

 “Hyung,” Jungkook warned him, “it’s not easy—“

“Mock me.”

“Hyung!” Jungkook said and was ready to stand up, but Jimin’s hand held him back.

“No, I’m serious! Mock me. Tell me I’m short. Tell me I’m ugly. Hit me. I don’t care. Just be close with me. Trust me. Accept me. I’ll listen to what you have to say. I’ll never leave you behind. Whatever it takes, I’ll risk it for you.”

 “Why do you want to know me so much, hyung? You have the other hyungs’ attentions already!” Jungkook snapped, before widening his eyes in surprise. He didn’t realize that. He didn’t mean to say, at least not aloud.

Jimin gasped. “Is that why?” he asked softly and when Jungkook didn’t give him any response, he smiled softly, apologetically, “It was never my intention. I just—“ he sighed heavily, “I thought that you guys—hopefully all of you, will be my teammates someday. And, I always know how it feels like to be the last one to join the group. They look at me differently. They doubt me.  They criticize me more than the others. It’s so much harder than you guys who’ve been training a lot longer than me. And, I just don’t want to feel like that anymore. I was always thinking about myself this whole time. I swear I never knew you’d feel like this. I am so very sorry.”

Jungkook looked down. He felt awful. He felt pathetic. He was ashamed of himself. The tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. This wasn’t how his parents raise him. It wasn’t supposed to be like this at all. Jimin was a good person with good intention, and this wasn’t right—the way he treated him. So, he stood up and ran away, not even bothering the worried calls Seokjin threw at him from the practice room. He just wanted to be gone.

Jungkook didn’t come home that night and they didn’t even bother to tell the staffs anymore. It was like before all over again. The hyungs wondered if Jungkook ever got tired of looking down at himself.

“I shouldn’t push him too hard,” Jimin said, looking worried like hell the moment he realized Jungkook didn’t show up during the last practice that day.

Taehyung pulled him to his side while the two of them were walking around the neighborhood—the other members went the other way around, some checked the dorm. “No, it’s not your fault. We’ll find him, don’t worry about it,” Taehyung said as his phone rang loudly through the silent of the night street.

“Hyung,” he called immediately when he saw Namjoon’s name on the screen.

“He’s asleep at the dorm, saying that he’s not feeling so well. He has a fever though, Tae, not too high, but it worries the hyungs here enough.”

Taehyung stopped on his track and looked to Jimin. Jimin stared expectantly. Please, tell me he’s fine.

“He’s fine at the dorm,” Taehyung breathed while hanging up the phone, “well, not really. He caught a fever, but he’ll be fine, trust me. Let’s just go back for now.” Taehyung threw him a comforting smile.

Jimin nodded his head, still looking upset and sad.

Taehyung opened the door and stepped inside first. Jimin was following behind timidly.

“We’re home,” Taehyung called from the door and Namjoon showed up from the kitchen, looking tired and upset too, but still gave them a small smile.

“Oh, finally. Go eat something and you can get ready to sleep,” he motioned to the kitchen where they could hear the quiet chatter of Jin and Yoongi. “Tonight we’re sleeping outside, okay? Only Jin hyung will sleep inside with Jungkook. He needs to be comfortable and none of us want to catch his fever too.”

“Is he okay?” Jimin asked softly, scared that the hyungs would think of him differently after this. This was his fault after all.

Namjoon chuckled at him and nodded. “The boy’s too stubborn sometimes, but, yeah, he’s fine. He took the medicine already and sleeping with Hoseok in the room. Don’t worry about it. And, just be a little bit more patient with him, okay?” Namjoon was just about to walk back to the kitchen when he stopped and remembered something. “Oh, he’s actually looking for you, Jimin-ah. Go check him now and see if he’s awake. I figure you guys need to talk.” Namjoon left the two of them.

Jimin looked to Taehyung with wide eyes. He shook his head. “I’m scared,” he whispered.

Taehyung laughed weakly and ruffled his hair. “It’ll be fine. Jungkook’s not like that though. Go see him now,” he said, pushing Jimin slightly toward the hall with a supporting smile.

Jimin took a deep breath and walked his way to their shared bedroom. It was dark, only a small lamp was on at the corner of the room, right next to Jungkook’s bedside. Jimin was sure that Jungkook was fast asleep with Hoseok curling in next to him; the older’s back faced the door. Jimin decided not to disturb them and stepped back, ready to close the door, but he heard a quiet “Jimin hyung?” and he stopped. Jimin stepped in again and Jungkook was blinking his eyes at him.

“Hey,” Jimin said softly, “you should be asleep.”

Jungkook sat up slowly, making sure not to wake Hoseok up with his sluggish movement. He looked down at the older and smiled tiredly. “Yeah, but I think Hobi hyung enjoys the sleep more than me.”

Jimin chuckled and stepped more inside the room, closing the door slightly, leaving the light from the hall lit up the other side of the room. Jimin walked carefully to Jungkook. The youngest looked so sick in the dim light and it turned Jimin’s inside painfully.

“I’m sorry,” Jimin breathed, stopping right in front of Jungkook.

Jungkook shook his head. “I’m okay, hyung. It’ll go away in the morning,” Jungkook tried to assure him, but then his face twisted in pain slightly and he frowned.

Jimin squatted down next to him immediately. “What is it?” he asked in a quiet panic voice.

Jungkook chuckled weakly. “Just, my head hurts,” he said, holding his temple with his right hand, while the other was gripping to the blanket.

Jimin moved his hand slowly to Jungkook’s hair. He stared at the younger carefully for a while. “I—I can help a little. May I?”

Jungkook nodded. “I guess.”

“Okay, just lay down,” Jimin said as he massaged Jungkook’s head softly.

Jungkook let out a sigh and laid down slowly, closing his eyes. “It really helps, hyung. Thanks.”

Jimin smiled happily. “Anytime, maknae.”

Jungkook stayed silent for a while that Jimin thought he was asleep. But, then, the younger turned his head a little to Jimin and opened his eyes. “Sorry, though. For what happened this afternoon.”

Jimin shrugged. The small space between him and Jungkook felt so comfortable, fortunately, like they had known each other for a really long time. “Friends fight,” he muttered softly, never stopping the massage. He just wanted Jungkook to feel better. He wanted to make Jungkook to feel better.

“Family fights,” Jungkook said, mimicking the way Jimin said the line before. Then, he smiled, closing his eyes peacefully. “I like that,” he giggled.

Jimin starred carefully. “Are…we family?”

Jungkook opened his eyes and looked right into Jimin’s eyes. This time, it felt like Jungkook was the one older there. “We only have each other for years ahead of us, so I feel like everyone’s here is supposed to be family. Especially us.”

Jimin gave his a big smile and laughed shyly. “Yeah,” he nodded, looking back straight to Jungkook’s eyes, “yeah, I like that too.”

They made it.

And it was all they ever asked for.

They made it to be recognized, to be told that they were finally ready for it. The seven of them. No less, no more. Just, the seven of them; Namjoon as the Rap Monster and taking his solid position as leader, and, Jin as the eldest hyung and the handsome visual of the group, Yoongi as Suga and the rapper plus the multi-talented composer, Hoseok as J-Hope slash the hope of the group and in charge of rapping and dancing, Taehyung as V and the deep vocal with a slight bit of craziness he was always so good at, Jimin as the dancer of the group and the one everyone wanted to pinch, and Jungkook as the golden maknae who was just good at everything. They all were something in the group and they completed each other. They were bulletproof.

They were Bangtan Boys.

And, they were all Jungkook’s life was about.