Jungkook wasn't used in seeing his hyung upset. He always smiled and laughed whenever the younger saw him. So when the older male knocked on his door (for babysitting duty, though Jungkook convinced himself that it’s not babysitting but adultsitting. If it made sense) looking like he just got out of hell, the younger had no idea what to do.

The older male rolled on the floor, crawled, sighed every thirty seconds, sobbed, and sulked in a span of one hour. Jungkook just watched him with curious eyes as Seokjin did his sulking on the cold hard wooden floor of his living room. He even offered Seokjin a comforter to roll into which the older male gladly accepted before he continued his business.   

On the one hour and thirtieth minute mark, Jungkook thought it's time to say something because he's seriously worried (and starving—but leaning more on the worried part).

"Hyung, are you okay?"

The older turned his head to the younger so fast that Jungkook heard something snap. Like his head snapping but he looks alive so he guessed it's not something to be worried about.

"No. No, oh god. I'm not okay. The test results will be revealed soon and I don't even know if I did well on the test. I mean the answers were revealed a day after the examination but I couldn't even remember my answers! Oh god, shame on me." He begun to sob.

Oh. So it's the test. Jungkook will be taking that test too in a few years and seeing his hyung stress like this because of a test (that the younger doesn’t care about but apparently it’s important) made him scared already. He doesn’t want to take it anymore.

"I'm sure you did good. I pass my tests because you tutor me..."

A sniff, "Y-you think so, Kookie?"

Jungkook bit his lower lip before he moved closer to Seokjin and gave his hand a firm squeeze to assure him that yes you’re smarter than what you give yourself a credit so it’s okay. Seokjin looked surprised by the gesture but his facial features visibly relaxed. He smiled at the younger.

Jungkook could feel his cheeks burning up, "Hyung, can you cook dinner now?"

"Oh my god. I'm sorry, I almost forgot. I was probably sulking for ten minutes already."

The older male stood up and made his way to the kitchen.

"It's been one hour and thirty minutes...." Jungkook murmured as he watched his hyung's back disappear to the kitchen.

Jungkook moved to sprawl himself on the leather couch that his father insisted to buy five years ago. He looked up at the ceiling and stared at the small dark sports on the white paint near the fluorescent light. He could hear Seokjin chopping something based on the sound of a sharp metal meeting a wooden surface and for some reason, it sounded...nice. It's just him chopping but it's sending him warm feeling to his stomach. He liked it and it felt different when he hears his mom use the kitchen.

Soon, he heard sounds similar to frying. He sniffed the air and his stomach growled angrily. He immediately got back to his feet and ran to the kitchen. He saw his hyung facing the stove, both of his arms busy with the pans in front of him. The younger sniffed the air again and walked closer to the taller male.

"Is that chicken? And fried rice?" the younger inquired though he could clearly see what the older male is cooking.

Seokjin hummed in response.

"I'm starving."

"Wait a bit more, Kookie. It should be done soon."

"Okay. Do I prepare the plates now, hyung?"

"Go ahead."

Jungkook dragged one of the chairs from the dining table to where the shelves are. He stood up from the chair to reach the upper shelf where the plates and glasses are located. He took out two plates (a plain white and his iron man plate), two mugs (a Super Mario mug and a plain red one), two sets of chopsticks, and spoons.

He hopped down from the chair while balancing the utensils on both of his hands and arranged them on the table.

"Hyung, table is ready. Is it done yet?"

"Yeah, just a second."

After a while, the dinner was served on the table and the younger didn't waste any time and stuffed his mouth with the food the moment Seokjin took a seat next to him (forget manners, he’s starving).

"Jimin tutored you for your English test, right?  I'm sorry I wasn't able to teach you."

A swallow of a large bite of chicken and a spoonful of fried rice, "It's okay, hyung. Jimin-hyung was good too."

Though at the back of Jungkook's mind, he thought that they actually didn't study anything because he forgot his notes so they just played video games. His hyung doesn't need to know that detail.

"What was your score?"

The younger gulped. He got three corrects out of one hundred. Again, his hyung doesn't need to know that.

"I-it was okay."

"Can I see?"

Oh no. Oh nO. Jungkook thought and mentally panicked.  There's no way he can show such a disappointment of a score to his hyung. Also, the essay part was more embarrassing than the whole test score itself because of his answer. The question was 'Describe the person that you like inEnglish' (bolded, italicized, and underlined to emphasize that they should write in English). Of course, he wrote an essay about a certain Jin-hyung. With absurd grammar and all. It was embarrassing.

He would rather get eaten by the ground first before he shows it to the man next to him.

"I don’t have it anymore..."

"Ah..." there was a hint of disappointment in his voice and Jungkook thought he'll sound more disappointed if he saw the test so he could deal with this, "...too bad. I wanted to see how helpful my notes were."

"Your notes were helpful, hyung!! It's organized too, easy to understand. Better than my brother's."

The older male laughed, "He doesn't really take notes like you."

Jungkook puffed his cheeks as he went back to his dinner. He could feel his face turning red like a tomato and he wondered why the older male hasn't pointed it out yet.

Well, he guessed it's better. At least it saved him from the embarrassment.

-X-

"JIn-hyung is in an all-boys school right?" Jungkook asked Taehyung who is just stuffed his mouth with two strawberry muffins while they walk home from school.

"Mffhh?"

"You should swallow first."

He swallowed thickly, forcing the food down to his throat without even chewing them properly. Jungkook could already hear Seokjin’s horrified gasp if he saw this.  

"Yeah. Mom forced him to go because he was too popular with the girls in the school. Though going to an all-boys school didn't really help that much because he still gets flowers and chocolates in valentine's day. "

"Where are those from?"

"From the boys in the school? Who else would it be?  It's not like he knows a lot of girls. He's a nerd."

"Oh." Jungkook's grip on his bag tightened, he kicked a small pebble on the ground before Taehyung continued. 

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering."

"There's nothing to be jealous about, Kookie." Taehyung teased.

"I’m not!"

Taehyung clung to his arm, leaning to his side to make up to Jungkook's shorter height, "Jin-oppa please buy me ice cream~"

"Stop it!!" he detached himself from Taehyung, "Just because JImin-hyung isn't here means you can make fun of me." he stuck his tongue out.

"Aish, Jiminie and his dance lessons." A pout appeared on Taehyung's face, "Maybe I should start doing something too? How does playing a saxophone sounds?"

"What's a saxophone?"

"It's an instrument, you blow it to make it sound."

"Can you do it with your braces on?"

"Why can’t I?"

"Because you lost a bracket when you blew hard into a whistle before."

"That was one time!"

"and another one when you sneezed hard."

"that was--"

"and another--"

"Okay, fine! I'll try it once I get these removed. "

"How many months left?"

"Another twelve."

Jungkook blinked, "That's long."

"Not really."

A comfortable silence warmed them as they walk side by side back to their homes from school. Jungkook bit down a smile, the school year will end soon which meant he could have his vacation. Though his mother wanted him to attend classes to review for the big exam (that everyone is freaking out about). Just thinking about it stressed him out already. He would go bald at a young age.

"Jin-hyung's result came in. He did really good. He even passed the scholarship to that one university that he applied for."

Jungkook turned his head to the older, "I knew it! Oh, but why didn't he tell me?"

"He didn't? " he sounded confused.

"No."

Taehyung's glance at Jungkook lingered a bit more than how he usually does before he shrugged and turned his gaze away, ending the topic right there.  

And Jungkook wondered what it was about, he thought about how inconvenient Taehyung's blank stare is when it comes to these kind of things. A complete opposite of Jimin and Seokjin's expressions that one can read like an open book so it's easy for Jungkook's curious stares to figure out if there's something wrong.  

"Hyung." The younger grabbed the Taehyung’s bag, stopping him from walking further, "Let's drop by the convenience store. I'll buy you an ice cream."

"You actually will? You have money for it?"

"Yeah. My brother didn't borrow my allowance today. "

Taehyung accusingly squinted his eyes, "You want something, don't you?"

"Do my math homework."

-X-

It was Jungkook's first week of vacation when his Jin-hyung asked him if he wanted to visit the beach.

"Yes!!" was his immediate answer. Even though they somewhat live close to the beach, they never really went there because his parents are too busy to take him and Seokjin is always busy with their bakery, school, and babysitting. So when the older told him about it, he almost vibrated in excitement.

Seokjin will drive them and Taehyung and Jimin will be there to watch him so his parents immediately agreed to it. His mother even offered to make sandwiches.

"Beach beach beach!" Jimin yelled from the top of his lungs when he hopped into the backseat of Seokjin's car.

"?" Taehyung asked when he sat next to Jimin. He looked surprised.

"Beach?"

"?"

"Beach."

"Stop it, you two. It’s beach." Seokjin sighed when he got into the driver's seat.

Jungkook was about to take a seat at the back next to Jimin when Taehyung pushed him out of the car, successfully startling Jimin in the process, "Go take a seat in the front with hyung. We're crowded here already."

"We still have a room for one more." Jimin said.

"Shhh."

Jungkook rolled his eyes but moved to the front seat anyway.

"We'll be there in an hour." The older male smiled when Jungkook made himself comfortable in the front seat, fastening his seat belt.

When Seokjin drove, Jungkook started to plan what he would do once they arrive.

Though he was sent a grim reminder that anything with Kim Taehyung in it will never go according to plan.

Thirty minutes into the ride and Jungkook felt like crying.

"It's my turn to choose what music we listen to." Taehyung demanded from the back. He pulled Seokjin's music player out of the car's speaker, causing the older male to freak out while gripping the steering wheel properly.

"Taehyung! Can you behave for just thirty more minutes?" He scolded the younger while he glued his eyes on the road, "And put my music player back on. You had your turn last time."

"Come on, hyung." He insisted.

"Taetae, just listen. You can have your turn later when we get home." Jungkook heard Jimin say with a desperate sigh.

"This is unfair. I'm putting my music player in." He pushed Jungkook to the side to make a room for himself in the front seat.

"OH my god-- Taehyung, go back to your seat--"

"Taetae!!" Jimin grabbed a hold of Taehyung's waist to pull him back.

Jungkook was squeezed to the window of the car, what a disaster. He struggled not to get suffocated by Taehyung when he noticed a dog crossing the road.

"A DOG!!! STOP!!"

The car came into an immediate stop, thank god Jimin was pulling Taehyung to the back seat and Jungkook felt grateful to the seatbelt. The impact would send anyone flying to the windshield.

Taehyung stopped struggling with a surprised look on his face and settled back next to Jimin. He sent a sheepish smile to Seokjin's direction, “Sorry.”

Jungkook turned his head to Seokjin and saw him clutching the steering wheel tightly. His gaze followed the dog who safely crossed the street without care as if nothing happened.

The older male started the car again to drive but the car remained dead. Another try, and another, and another. Nothing happened. Seokjin’s face turned pale.

"Oh my god."

"Hyung? Are we still going to the beach?" Taehyung asked.

Seokjin let out a frustrated cry.

"I’ll take that as a no...." Taehyung murmured and Jungkook felt utterly disappointed. He was looking forward to this.

Out of the blue, Jimin sounded like an angel sent from heaven, "I'll call some help." He paused, "We should still go, right?"

"Go ahead, Jiminie. Jin-hyung is not in the right condition to be making phone calls right now, he's having a mental breakdown. " Taehyung said as if this wasn’t his fault in the first place.

“And that’s your fault.” Jimin murmured.

Jungkook bit his lower lip, he frowned as he watched Seokjin bury his face on the steering wheel.

He wanted to go to the beach and he’s going to break Taehyung’s nose if they don’t end up going because a.) Seokjin won’t be in the mood anymore b.) Seokjin won’t be in the mood anymore and will drive back just to teach Taehyung his lesson not to screw things up. It all boiled down to Taehyung’s fault and he disappointed his Jin-hyung in the process of screwing the whole plan (he felt protective over the older boy, but who wouldn’t?).

Suddenly, Seokjin sat up straight, unbuckled the seatbelt, stepped out of the car, opened the door to the back seat, pulled Taehyung out of the car from his ear, and closed the doors with a great force that Jimin jumped from his seat while clutching his phone to his ear.

He could hear Jimin talking to the phone, probably to a car repair shop. He could also see Seokjin with his arms crossed, no doubt scolding a dejected looking Taehyung with a red ear from where Seokjin pulled him. He couldn’t hear what was happening outside though.

“This doesn’t look good.” Jimin said as he put his phone down to his lap.

Jungkook agreed.

 “The help should be here soon.” He smiled but it was replaced by worry when he turned to the younger, “Kookie, you don’t look good. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just upset. I want to go to the beach.”

“Me too.” He his lower lip as he turned his gaze to his lap, the next words that came from his mouth sounded sad, “Jin-hyung wanted to go there so bad too, if anything he’s the one who has been looking forward to go there the most.”

“I didn’t know he loves beach that much.”

“Well, he said it was because you’ve always wanted to go to the beach so he insisted to go and was excited about it.”

Jungkook blinked. Whatever he was going to say next died down in his throat before it even reached his tongue. He felt his eyes getting watery and the next thing he knew, Jimin started panicking.

“Jungkook! Why are you crying?” He reached to the pocket of his jeans to look for something.

Jungkook wiped his wet cheeks with the back of his palm in an attempt to make himself more presentable. He saw Taehyung’s eyes widen when he turned his attention to the younger and pulled Seokjin’s arm to look at the commotion inside the car.

Seokjin’s eyes widened, he opened the door to the driver’s seat and leaned closer to Jungkook. He tried to wipe Jungkook’s tears away with the sleeve of his sweater when the younger clung to the him.

“K-Kookie? What’s wrong?”

Taehyung and Jimin exchanged glances.

“You made him cry didn’t you.”

“No, I didn’t!”

Jungkook buried his face on his hyung’s shoulder, “You didn’t have too…” A hiccup, “I love you, hyung. Please don’t be upset anymore.”

Seokjin pulled Jungkook closer to him, rubbing soothing circles with his finger on the younger’s back.

“Kookie, don’t worry we’ll go to the beach. Okay? We need to go there, alright?” His Jin-hyung assured him.

The way the older said it with such assurance made Jungkook’s chest hurt. Not being able to go to the beach today is not much of a big deal if he thought about it because they could always go tomorrow or next week, but the older still wanted to push through it. He realized how much the older male cared for him and tried so hard not to disappoint the younger. Seokjin was always there for him. He pulled him close, held his hand, and assured him that everything is alright. He cooked dinner, breakfast, and sometimes packed lunch for him when no one is around to take care of him in the house. He always made the younger feel safe and happy and god Jungkook loved his hyung a lot. Maybe a bit too much.

They had to wait for one hour before the car is ready to go again, and Jungkook felt the happiest in the thirteen years of his life. Though his heart thumped a bit too hard than normal and he felt like he would get a stomach ache.

He had no idea that after this, little Jungkook would fall asleep in the car due to exhaustion from the activities that involved Taehyung burying him in the sand, splashing water to Jimin until he screams, and Seokjin freaking out because he forgot to put a sunblock on Taehyung. Seokjin would carry him back and tuck him to his bed. He would crack an eye open and see Seokjin smiling at him. He’ll reach for the older male to join him in the bed, but for the first time, his hyung would refuse.

“Kookie, I need to go back and pack my things. I’ll go to Seoul tomorrow. Be a good boy, alright? Did you have fun today?”

He’ll be too exhausted to even think about it so he’ll close his eyes and let sleep take over him.

Tomorrow, he’ll tell his hyung how much he had fun. He thought.

Twitter: @tsoookie

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