“Oh my god, you did not .”

“Oh but I did,” Jin groaned, slamming his head into the table and spilling his coffee in the process. “, , .” He scrambled to pick it up, the red already flushing his ears now spreading to the rest of his face.

He had called Hyosang, his best friend, the day after the soulmate incident and demanded that they meet up after work the following Monday. Upon arrival, he had promptly experienced a small panic attack, explained the events at the bar, and proceeded to spill his coffee. Overall, he thought he was off to a pretty good start.

“Kim Seokjin,” Hyosang sighed when the mess was all cleaned up. “I don’t give half a if he was making out with another guy. People get lonely waiting on the one . You should have at least left him your number or a note or something .The poor guy was probably drunk . How the hell are you going to find him now?”

“Ah, well, about that...” Jin cleared his throat nervously. “I know who he is.”

“What? How?”

“Ever heard of Rap Monster?” Jin winced as he watched the other’s eyes widen in recognition. Yeah. He had expected that.

“You’re joking,” Hyosang breathed.

“Nope. I really wish I was , but nope.”

“Why?” he demanded.

“What do you mean, why? Do I look like the soulmate of a rapper? Like, his stuff is cool or whatever, but I’m way too awkward, and, and- domestic . I’m opening a cute cafe , for crying out loud. This guy is way too cool for me. I mean, I may be handsome , but the underground rap scene isn’t exactly my thing,” Jin scoffed. So, yeah, okay, he was annoyed that the universe had paired him with someone like Rap Monster. Because, what the heck, universe? He wanted someone to cuddle with, and go on cute dates with, that he could spoil and pamper, and have the same done for him, and just be... just be goddamn adorable with. Rap Monster didn’t really fit the bill.

“Well, you never know till you try, right?” Hyosang frowned. “You are going to try, right?”

Jin sighed, resting his chin on his forearms. “Yeah, I am. I wasn’t a complete idiot that night. I actually put my contact info into the phones of the bar owners and sent them texts asking them not to tell Rap Monster. It felt really weird, but they seemed to know each other, so I figured why not. Also, I bet they can get me into a gig of his or something.”

Hyosang grinned. “Well damn, look at you. Have you texted them since?”

“Not yet,” Jin hesitated, “I, uh, I actually didn’t tell Jungkookie about any of this, and I really can’t do this alone, so I wanted to ask if you would come with me, first.”

“Oh,” Hyosang’s grin widened. “Jungkook is gonna murder you when he finds out, you know.”

“Yeah, I know, but he would give me endless for wimping out like I did. So, you down to go to a gig or what?”

“Hell yeah. But don’t tell Jungkook I was involved. I prefer life and I would rather not be found guilty by association,” Hyosang teased. Jin just rolled his eyes as he pulled out his phone. He hesitated before opening a conversation with T.O.P. (he had talked to G-Dragon, but T.O.P. had looked like he knew Rap Monster, and besides, G-Dragon seemed a bit… well, just like he wouldn’t be the most helpful…).

“What do I say?” Jin rocked back in his seat, uncertain.

“Hey, I’m the weirdo that put my number in your phone and ran away from your friend as soon as I found out he was my soulmate because rappers just aren’t my type.” Jin didn’t deem that worthy of a response, and simply glowered until Hyosang gave in with a sigh. “I don’t know, Jinnie. Maybe just a friendly ‘Hey.’ Maybe apologize and explain that you just panicked but want to make things right? I’m sure if you explain, they won’t bite your head off, and if they’re friends with him they’ll probably want to help, if not for your sake, at least for his.”

Jin opened his mouth, then closed it. Well. That could work. He looked down at his phone, fingers hesitating over the keys. Hyosang nudged him, and smiled encouragingly. The guy liked to push his buttons, but at the end of the day, he was Jin’s best friend for a reason. Finally mustering up some courage, he typed out a long text, running it by Hyosang before finally pushing the send button.

“I really hope this all works out.”

“I hope so too, Jinnie.”

***

Jin wasn’t entirely sure what to say. Was there a handbook for this sort of thing? Probably not. Because People don’t usually have to deal with three adult men in full footie pajamas appearing in their living rooms surrounded by stuffed animals, and… wait. Were they cut open?

“Wha- What are you doing?” Jin managed to choke out. Okay, that one was definitely missing its head. Breathe, Seokjin. It’s okay… it’s okay. There’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for… for whatever this is. This wasn’t exactly what he had been expecting to find when he arrived home.

One of the three- he recognized him as Taehyung, Hoseok’s soulmate from the evening at the bar- jumped up, Totoro ears flapping and box grin shining from under the hood of the baggy grey onesie.

“Hyung! Don’t worry, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this,” he flapped his hand confidently. Oh, thank god. “We were praying to the Ghibli gods!” Taehyung’s eyebrows scrunched and his fists clenched, and his look of childlike determination would have been almost adorable- except what the actual . “Miyazaki isn’t even in his eighties yet, and this is like, his fifth ‘retirement,’” Tae made quote marks in the air and rolled his eyes- as if that was the most ridiculous thing being discussed right now- “and we don’t think he should stop putting his glorious mind to use, and so we figured if we sacrificed some fresh plushies- of the highest quality, I might add. You don’t skimp when it comes to the Ghibli gods-” Right. Of course. Perfectly reasonable - “then they might accept our humble request.”

Jin took a deep breath. Then another. Blinked. Looked at the other two men rather incredulously. How the heck had he gotten Jungkook to participate in th- oh wait, no, Jungkook had pulled out the pikachu footie pajamas. If it had come that far, then nothing was too ridiculous for his little brother.

“Sacrifices… to the Ghibli gods. Right. Uhm… why?” Jin’s mind was still reeling (the freaking pikachu pajamas were out, how did this even…) but then it dawned on him that he didn’t recognize the third guy sitting in his living room wearing… was that a Jiji onesie? He was relatively certain Jiji was the cat that wore the little red bow…

“It worked in Percy Jackson!” Jiji-pajamas piped up, eyes disappearing behind huge cheeks when he smiled. Jin had to resist an overwhelming urge to go pinch them.

“Uhm, those weren’t sacrifices in the same sense, I don’t think. They cut open stuffed animals to read omens or something,” Jin pointed out. “Also… that was a work of fiction, and that guy was crazy...”

But the boys had stopped listening to him at that point, instead indignantly rounding on a now very defensive and very pink Jiji-pajamas.

“Oh my god, Park Jimin-” so that was his name- “I did not sacrifice my No Face plushy for nothing ,” Jungkook breathed. Jin resisted the urge to scream.

“You aren’t even in a Ghibli related onesie, you were messing up the feng shui of the whole thing anyway!” Jimin pointed an accusing finger back at him, and Jungkook gasped.

“I told you, I watched every Miyazaki film in this thing, it’s absorbed enough Ghibli chi that it may as well be Ghibli related!”

“Guys, woah, hey. Hold up. Isn’t Miyazaki working on Kemushi no Bono right now anyway?” Jin cut in before things could get ugly. He knew how Jungkook could get when the Pikachu onesie was out.

“WHAT.” All three hooded heads turned to him in unison and Jin couldn’t decide if it was creepy or adorable.

“Yeah… some CGI film about a caterpillar or something. It was announced recently. How did you not know about this?” The three sat in stunned silence for a moment before Taehyung solemnly turned to the other two.

“It worked. Praise unto the Ghibli gods, for they have heard our prayers.” He lifted his arms and tipped his head back, eyes closed, before suddenly springing forward, and the movement was quickly followed by a cacophony of screeching and jumping from all three. Jin gave up, at this point, escaping down the hall and into his room before he could get dragged down into what was quickly devolving into a cuddle fest (Taehyung had flung himself on top of the other two).

***

To: Hoseokie

So… I just entered my apartment to find Tae, Jungkookie, and some guy named Park Jimin sacrificing plushies to the “Ghibli gods”

From: Hoseokie

Lemme guess… it was Jiminie’s idea, but Tae was the one leading the cult?

To: Hoseokie

Yup. And Jungkook came this (>”)> close to fighting Jimin, but I think Tae helped me smooth things out and it all ended in lots of loud noises and cuddling.  

From: Hoseokie

Sounds about right. I noticed Jimin reading Percy Jackson the other day. Though, I think that boy needs someone to kick his every once in awhile.

From: Hoseokie

Oh, but, he’s a sweet kid. Mostly sunshine and smiles, don’t worry. And he seems to have taken it upon himself to push as many of Jungkook’s buttons as he can.

To: Hoseokie

Oh good, someone to make Kookie squirm. I already like him.

To: Hoseokie

Btw, wanna come over for dinner? It looks like they’ll be here for a while, and I need at least one other sane adult in this house.

From: Hoseokie

Sure, I’m just wrapping up at the studio anyway. Food would be fantastic.

To: Hoseokie

Alright. Head on over whenever you’re done. I think I just heard screaming, so hopefully the building is even still standing when you arrive.

From: Hoseokie

Oh trust me, this is normal behavior. Lol, GOOD LUCK AND WELCOME TO THE FAMILY. See yah soon >w<

To: Hoseokie

Jesus… Alright, hurry. Please. See yah (>~<)

***

“I’m a grown- man, I can make my own decisions.”

Jin watched, with slight concern and copious amounts of consternation, as Jungkook stomped his foot like a bratty child, look complete with pikachu ears flapping and tail flopping about.

“Jungkook… You have school tomorrow. Tae has a job. And so does Jimin.” Jin noticed Hoseok open his mouth as if to contend this statement, then snapped it shut a moment later, seeming to think better of it and instead playing with his food. Good.

“But hyung , I promise we won’t even stay up all night. I never have sleepovers, come o-on,” Jungkook dragged out the last syllable and Jin struggled to wrap his mind around the fact that he was actually having this conversation with an actual twenty year old man. It was a Monday night. Any responsible adult wouldn’t be having sleepovers in footie pajamas on a Monday night.

At least there was Jimin. Jimin was the only one that seemed hesitant- Hoseok didn’t count because he wasn’t included in this sleepover business and he lacked the onesie anyway- and although he was the one that had the ridiculous idea of sacrificing plushies to begin with, dinner with all of them revealed Jimin to be the most mature of the three. Well maybe. Taehyung seemed the least mature, and definitely the most spacey, but there were sometimes these moments where Jin questioned if he simply acted like he was a spacecase. He wasn’t sure, but he decided that judgement would be saved for a later date. For now, Jimin got the shining title of Mature One.

“I- I don’t think I can sleepover, Jungkookie-” right on cue. It was like the kid had read his mind- “Jin’s right, I have work. I can’t show up to the office running on no sleep.”

Jimin seemed to shrink in his seat as Jungkook glared at the betrayal, but Tae piped up before the younger could focus on it for too long.

“I work with kids, so even without any sleep- and trust me, I’ve been there- they give me all the energy I need to get through the day. I’ll make sure Jungkook doesn’t stay up too late, though. Promise. Please , hyung?”

Jin huffed, but exchanged a glance with Hoseok. The guy was younger, and they had just met a few days prior, but Jin found himself trusting his judgement. The small nod he received was ultimately the deciding factor.

“Fine. Fine, but I swear to God, if you two are loud-”

“We won’t be!” they chorused, already bouncing in their seats.

“-I will personally kick you both out. Alright?” Jin tried to mask his smile of amusement at the two nodding enthusiastically, Pikachu and Totoro ears swinging wildly. Grown- men my caboose.

***

They had finished dinner, and Jin listened with interest as Hoseok bantered back and forth with Jimin, the two still lounging at the table. It hadn’t taken long for him to realize that Jimin was actually Hoseok’s closest friend, not Tae’s, as he initially thought.

“You’re such a child, you know that?” Hoseok teased, feigning exasperation. Jin glanced back from washing dishes at the sink in time to catch Jimin shoving the elder’s shoulder lightly, trying and failing to hold back a smile. He had a nice smile. Where Tae’s was goofy, and Hoseok’s was knowing, Jimin’s smile seemed just… bright. Genuine. Sunshine-y.

“It was fun , okay? If anything, this reflects weirdly on you , hyung. Both your soulmate and your best friend are like this. If we’re children, you’re a e,” Jimin’s tone was marked by mock disgust, and Jin had to hold back a snort of laughter. The guy had a point.

“Woah there, I’m offended. And I can see you chuckling, Jin-hyung.” The elder in question twisted back to flash Hoseok a grin before return to the dishes. “And you know what, who says I’m not also a child, huh?”

“A child wouldn’t be that beast in bed!” Taehyung’s lavender head momentarily popped up from the couch where he and Jungkook were playing video games. Jimin slapped his hand over his mouth as he burst into giggles, and Jungkook turned wide eyes on Taehyung as the elder added in a stage whisper, “Dancer skills. Hot damn, those hips.”

“But hyung, we’re all dancers,” Jungkook pointed out. Then, almost as an afterthought, “Well, except Jin-hyung.”

There was a moment of silence before Jimin and Hoseok’s laughter brought heat to Jin’s face, and Jungkook’s took on a similar shade of scarlet as well, realizing the implications of his statement. Jin held up pruny hands, stopping the younger as he attempted to sputter out an apology.

“Nope. You know what, it’s okay. Dancer. Not dancer. I don’t care, because at the end of the day, I’m still taller, broader shouldered, and prettier than all of you, so who’s the real winner here? If any amongst you believes he can rival this shoulder width, may he please rise now.” Jin raised his eyebrows and looked around, daring anyone to try. All eyes fell on Jungkook as the younger man straightened in his seat. A moment of silent magnitude, an air of anticipation, of hope. It was almost palpable, the slightly rebellious and almost bloodthirsty mood that had reared its ugly head, seeming to pit brother against brother. Everyone seemed to lean forward, awaiting the moment that Jungkook would rise and stake his claim as the rightful bearer of those titles. He opened his mouth, and-

“Wait, what? You guys aren’t seriously expecting me to fight him on that?” Jungkook looked around, bemused. “Guys, I’m his brother , and I’m not a complete . Have you seen his shoulders? Hell no.” Jungkook threw his hands in the air and leaned back, effectively shattering the previous moment, whatever the heck that was.

“Well,” Jimin laughed. “Now that I’m feeling terribly emasculated by someone who for all the world seemed more like a mother figure…” Jimin simply winked at the glare Jin shot him, “I’m gonna head out. It really is getting late and I really do have work tomorrow.” He rose and gathered his things, still in that adorable Jiji onesie, before moving towards the entrance. As he passed the couch, Jin caught the coy smile Jimin plastered on his face before leaning forward and whispering something in Jungkook’s ear. Jin watched with interest as his little brother’s neck turned an alarming shade of red, and he shoved a giggling Jimin away. Clearly satisfied with this response, Jimin finally opened the front door, called, “See you cuties later! Thanks for having us, Jin-hyung! Byyye” and then was gone.

Finally finished at the sink, Jin wiped his hands on a rag hanging from the oven handle before dropping into the seat across from where Hoseok was still lounging at the table. They both eyed each other warily before bursting into laughter.

“Oh my god, what the heck. Should I normally expect such dramatic evenings with you guys around?” Jin grinned and Hoseok leaned forward, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Does that mean we should expect to be here more often?” he smiled coyly, tipping his head to one side. Jin rolled his eyes at the display.

“So that’s where Jimin gets it from,” Jin teased. “But, nah, really,” he dropped his voice to a low murmur so the two in the living room wouldn’t overhear, “you guys should come more often. I haven’t seen Jungkook act this childish in years.” Hoseok raised his eyebrows in surprise, and Jin shrugged. “I know, childish can be annoying, but I always kinda worried about the kid. He always tried to act more mature than he really was, and he’s definitely an obnoxious sometimes, but this is the first time I’ve seen him genuinely acting young, and not just acting cute to get something from me. I think it’s sorta my fault, too. I’m five years older than him, so he’s always trying to play catch-up. Even now, he’s going to college, and he already knocked out his years of military service, but I know he isn’t going to be happy on the path he’s on. The kid should be pursuing dance or music or something. He’s always been stupidly gifted in the arts, but he’s trying to please our parents. And I know I don’t help in that department either, because I pursued acting, but now here I am opening a cafe soon instead. Not exactly a shining example of an art student if I didn’t end up pursuing a career in acting in the end anyway.” Jin sighed and slumped forward. A gentle touch at his shoulder made him look up, and a shock went through him when he was hit by the fact that he had more or less spilled his guts to someone he had only known a few days. Scrambling backward, he attempted desperately to backtrack, only to be stopped by a knowing, though not at all unkind smile and a hand on his arm.

“Jin-hyung. It’s okay. I understand being worried. I worry about Tae, too, and I’m glad he’s got Jungkook for the same reason. Well, similar at least. Tae really is the embodiment of sunshine and daisies, but even the sun has its dark days and flowers can wilt, and sometimes I forget that.” Hoseok pursed his lips thoughtfully, “Jimin and I always joke about how we’re soulmate besties, and somehow I think Tae has that with Jungkook, as well. Though, you know they’ve been friends for years? I’m surprised that you weren’t aware of it, all considered.”

Jin blinked. “What are you talking about, of course I’ve known about Tae. I just had never met him. I’ve never seen them together, so I had no idea Jungkook could be like this still.”

Now it was Hoseok’s turn to look at him in confusion. “Wait, what? If it’s been years, how have you never met?”

Jin shrugged, unsure why he could feel a blush creeping up his neck, “Well, I am five years older than him. They met in high school, and by then I was already out of the house and in college. When I visited home it was usually family time, or Jungkook would come out with me and my friends that he knew. And Jungkook only just came to live with me this school year. So yeah… it just kinda added up to me not really meeting his friends until more recently.”

“Oh. Well. I guess that makes sense.” Jin shrugged, but caught the way Hoseok’s eyes narrowed. “So, hyung. I’ve been curious. Not that it’s any of my business, but… why did you leave early the other night?”

“I-”

“And I know it wasn’t that you weren’t feeling well, because we all saw you sprint out of the place like the devil himself was after you. Though, I don’t know, maybe he was, considering that I’m pretty sure that was Rap Monster I saw sprinting after you.”

Jin sat very still for a moment, weighing his options. He could deny that it was Rap Monster, deny that he even knew he was being chased- not that he expressly had know that, anyway. He was only relatively certain, because he had escaped the moment he unfroze time, and Rap Monster had still been glued to the other guy with his goddamn tongue down his throat (no, he wasn’t salty at all, shut up), and Jin had thought he heard pursuit, but mixed in with the other sounds of the bar, he hadn’t been entirely sure. So he could deny it. Or he could fess up. Admit everything. Desperately ask for help, advice. What would a real man do?

“Oh my gosh, okay, yes, that was Rap Monster, but I couldn’t deal with him at the time, because how does someone deal with Rap Monster being their soulmate, and gosh darnit, I was trying to keep all this on the down-low, and now Kookie’s gonna murder me for lying, and honestly, what’s a guy supposed to do, and then I mean, T.O.P, but he told me to text G-Dragon about it instead, but, like, really? G-Dragon? Ugh, and then I forgot to text him anyway, and I need to do that, because I need to go see a concert, because I ran away, and I didn’t even exactly talk to Rap Monster, and who the heck calls himself Rap Monster anyway? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, and he’s a stupid rapper, and oh my gosh I just rambled at you and probably none of that made sense so I’m going to stop talking now and oh god, please don’t tell Jungkook.” Jin pressed his lips into a line, both embarrassed and horrified at the absolute word vomit he had just spouted.

“Actually, this makes a lot more sense now. So, lemme see if I’ve got this straight. Rap Monster is your soulmate, and you found that out when we were at the bar, but for some reason you felt the need to escape, so you ran away, but you knew who Rap Monster was, so you texted T.O.P. about it and T.O.P. told you to go to G-Dragon- which, by the way, was a good idea, because G-Dragon is far more adept in this field- but you have since forgotten to text G-Dragon, and to top it all off, you’re hoping to go to a performance, but also need to keep Jungkook from finding out any of this. Yeah?” Hoseok grinned, and Jin had to keep his jaw from swinging off its hinges. “Don’t look so surprised, I’m an excellent listener. Though, do you usually just kinda… run on like that? That’s the second time tonight.” A bemused smile tugged at the corner of the younger’s lips. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Uhm. Maybe. Not usually. Depends? Usually just with Hyosang.” Jin awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Oh, and Hyosang is my soulmate bestie. So yeah. No, I don’t usually embarrass myself to totally strangers,” he paused, “well, okay, maybe I do, but not usually like that .”

Hoseok chuckled, “Yeah, I remember those dance moves. But alright, so, that’s what happened. Want help? I’m always down to go to a rap performance, and I’ve been meaning to go to one of Rap Monster’s anyway.”

Jin brightened, then narrowed his eyes, “Wait, but then wouldn’t Tae hear about it, and by extension Jungkook?”

“I feel like you’re always suspicious of me,” Hoseok grinned and rolled his eyes good naturedly. “No. Tae may seem like an airhead, but he wouldn’t be my soulmate if he was. He’s one of the most observant people I know- and that’s really saying something, considering I’m one of the most observant people I know- but unlike me, he generally just keeps it to himself. He’s the one that distracted Jungkook when we saw you leave, which is why Jungkook doesn’t know about Rap Monster already, and if you really think about the events of even just this evening, Tae usually is the first to notice conflict and soothe it before anything can really happen. So yeah, Tae would hear about it, in fact, he’d be down to come, but he wouldn’t tell Jungkook. Don’t worry.”

Jin considered this for a moment before giving in, nodding. “Alright, yeah, actually, it would be really nice to have back up. It was originally just gonna be me and Hyosang. Well, if I even get help from G-Dragon,” Jin frowned. “We’ll see. I’ll text him in the morning and let you know what’s up.”

“Alrightie, I’m excited now,” Hoseok clapped his hands together, his cheshire smile coming out. “Though, I’ve been wondering. Why don’t you just tell Jungkook?”

Jin looked at him solemnly for a moment before reaching out and placing his hand atop the younger’s. “Hoseok. There’s something you need to understand very quickly if you’re going to stick around. Jungkook sometimes couldn't care less about respect and age, and that kid goes to the gym way too much, and has way too many muscles. One does not simply sneak around Jungkook and get caught without suffering dire consequences.”