SPRING; March

Saturday -- Evening

Since Jungkook’s father hadn’t come back yet, Jiyoo and Jungkook took the responsibility of making lunch into their own hands- Meaning that Jungkook was the one making sandwiches while Jiyoo just cut them into little triangles.

“Do you like cooking Jiyoo?” Seokjin asks curiously.

Jiyoo hadn’t picked up any sort of cooking utensil in front of them. She was even cutting the sandwiches with a butter knife instead of an actual knife, thus making Seokjin curious as to if she couldn’t cook or if she just wasn’t allowed to.

“I do.” Jiyoo nods her head, “It’s not that hard either if you have the instructions for whatever you’re making.”

Her eyes trail along the countertop, stopping at Jungkook who was putting mayonnaise on another slice of bread. “But someone thinks that I’m going to kill myself everytime I try to cook.”

Jungkook snorts, but doesn’t disagree. To that, Jiyoo just shrugs her shoulders and looks back at Seokjin. “I burned my hand a couple weeks ago on a pan and Jungkook hasn’t let me make anything since.” She mutters, though her voice is quiet so it doesn’t come out more than a small huff.

“My cooking isn’t bad though.” Jungkook says. “You haven’t complained when I made glazed sweet potatoes last week.”

Hearing of the sweet potato dish, Jiyoo lets out a small sound of delight. “Mmm yeah, those were yummy.”

Seokjin laughs, though pulls away from the conversation seeing that the two were getting lost in their own little world again. He finds women that can cook more appealing, and although it’s his own personal preference, he does believe that everyone should have some form of basic cooking knowledge.

“Girls that can cook are much cuter though, don’t you think?” Hoseok grins, sharing the same ideal with Seokjin though being more upfront about it.

“How do skills improve an appearance?” Jiyoo asks curiously, “Isn’t it just what you see on the outside though?”

Hoseok clicks his tongue, closing his eyes as a small, but devious smile appears on his lips. “Of course cooking skills improve a woman’s appearance. After all, just imagine a hot babe with an apron on and nothing else-”

“Hyung!” Jimin coughs, his bangs hanging over his eyes as he tries not to let the red flush on his cheeks be too obvious.

Hoseok shrugs his shoulders, not understanding what he said wrong. “They’re not kids Jimin-ah.”

“But still…” Namjoon looks over at Jiyoo and is relieved to see her helping Jungkook put the sandwiches on a plate. He can see a faint smirk on Jungkook’s lips, but he hides it while distracting Jiyoo with miscellaneous instructions as she helps him prepare lunch.

“Like this?”

Upon hearing the feminine voice, Hoseok turns his head expecting to see Jiyoo in an apron just like the woman he’d described in his mini fantasy. His dreams were shattered when he found a pair of hairy legs and wide shoulders instead of smooth skin and an a petite frame. Jungkook sported the legendary ‘ apron’ look instead, causing Hoseok to deflate a little.

“You like this kind of stuff hyung?” Jungkook says with a grimace. He turns around to reveal his back and swim shorts, looking at Hoseok with a disappointed expression on his face.

“Not like that!” Hoseok cringes, cursing Jungkook inwardly for ruining his fantasy.

Marching up to the pair, he quickly untied the apron off Jungkook’s body and places it onto Jiyoo. Tying the straps, he takes a step back and nods his head. “This is what I’m talking about.”

If you looked at Jiyoo from the front, it looked as though she really was behind the apron. The shoulder straps of her bathing suit were almost completely hidden under the thicker straps of the apron, thus pulling off the look exactly how Hoseok had described it.

“It’s not much of a difference.” Suga grumbles.

Jungkook didn’t miss the way some of the others were staring a bit too long at Jiyoo’s legs. Even Suga had taken more than one peek at how the apron hugged Jiyoo’s body. He promptly took off the apron and threw it to the ground, ignoring Hoseok’s grumbles about ‘ruining his fun’. Looking at the crumpled apron on the floor, Hoseok goes down on his knees and picks up the fallen apron. He holds it to his chest and hugs it as if it were his dying lover, his face contorting into one filled with anguish and pain.

“This is…” Jiyoo pauses, not being sure what she should even say at this point. “An interesting you have here.”

Jungkook’s smirk finally leaves him, being replaced with a smile as his hold on his composure was lost after hearing Jiyoo’s jeers towards Hoseok. Hoseok was defeated and gets up to sit in one of the stools near the kitchen counter with a sigh. Everyone had eaten lunch after that, and Seokjin was joined by not only Jungkook to help clean up the kitchen, but Jiyoo too.

The three of them finished cleaning up within ten minutes and were back outside by the pool so that they could continue swimming again. Jungkook went first and waddled himself down the steps and into the water. He turned around to put his hand out for Jiyoo to take, helping her step into the water too as he kept her steady.

None of the others followed them into the pool. Even Taehyung had stopped at the edge of the water, watching sadly as Jungkook took Jiyoo from him yet again.

“What are you guys doing?” Jimin asks unsurely, watching as Jiyoo and Jungkook looked up at him just as confusedly.

“We’re going to swim?” Jungkook says as a matter of factly.

Jimin shakes his head, “You guys need to wait twenty more minutes or you’ll get cramps.”

“Uncle said that’s just a myth though...” Jiyoo whines.

Her voice went up at the end, causing Jimin to let out a sigh as he covered his face. Jiyoo took this as Jimin being disappointed in her and looked at Jungkook worriedly. Jungkook pats her on the back a bit, signaling that it was fine. He and the other Alphas knew that Jimin wasn’t upset, rather far from it.

Behind his hand was a blush that decorated Jimin’s cheeks. Jiyoo’s unconscious cuteness poked a hole in his composure, rendering Jimin’s stern words useless.

“You guys are going to hurt and drown, you know.” Suga says, his voice going soft. His face looked sad for a split moment, before his signature smirk had appeared. “I doubt Jiyoo would want to see the light again for a second time in a row.”

Jiyoo and Jungkook looked at one another and trudged to the stairs of the pool. They sat down, but didn’t completely get out of the pool. Instead, they let the water splash against their stomachs. Jiyoo whispered frantically about how scary Suga was being while Jungkook just watched him from afar.

Maybe it was the fact that he didn’t like the others getting too close to Jiyoo, but he could’ve sworn that it sounded like Suga was actually concerned for Jiyoo for a short moment. He brushes off the thought as soon as he saw Jiyoo’s body get smaller out of the corner of his eye.

“Jiyoo,” Namjoon sighs, “Jimin said that you’ll get cramps if you swim too early.”

Jiyoo turns to look at Namjoon straight in the eye. He could see her fingers poking together under the water, the action making his heart melt though his facial expression was stoic.

“I’m not swimming though… I’m just sitting.”

Her words held true to Namjoon’s dismay. Only now, the water had risen up to Jiyoo’s chest as she sat in the pool and kicked her legs triumphantly. Jungkook caught on after a few seconds, joining her a step lower as he looked at Namjoon with a smug expression that mimicked Jiyoo’s one.

Jiyoo and Jungkook took turns going a step down until their mouths were covered by water. It prompted them to stand up and keep going deeper into the pool, their excuses getting weaker by the minute as they were “just walking” or “just jumping”.

“Whatever, I give up.” Jimin sighs, earning a cheer from Jiyoo and Jungkook who started to swim fully now.

The others had joined them after another twenty minutes. Taehyung finally had his chance to get closer to Jiyoo, bugging her and Jungkook until they all swam around together. Jiyoo enjoyed swimming since it was so hot out and Jungkook reluctantly followed along.

--

At Jungkook’s house, they had automatic lights that when they sensed movement in the dark. It was a plus since it meant they could continue swimming even after the sun went down.

“I’m surprised uncle didn’t come back home yet.” Jiyoo mumbles, going under the water as she blew bubbles.

“He said something about staying late for work, I think.” Jungkook says unsurely, “I think he texted me, but I forgot already.”

Jungkook was still in the pool with Jiyoo even though many of the others had already gotten out to dry off. Since Jungkook was floating close to the edge of the pool, he had gotten bopped on the head by Namjoon’s foot. “Your dad said that he was meeting with some friends.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Jungkook laughs, already pushing that matter aside.

Seokjin rolls his eyes and checks the time. 8:56 PM. Jiyoo and Jungkook still hadn't gotten out of the pool yet. Their bodies were almost fully submerged, only keeping their noses and mouths above the water that was almost at a standstill.

Even Taehyung had given up swimming after a while, his body being fully clothed after complaining about how it was getting cold.

It was weird that Jiyoo and Jungkook hadn’t gotten out yet and Seokjin was about to look away when he did a double take. The two were just huddled together, still unmoving.

Then he realized the reason why.

“Hey! Get out of the pool before you freeze yourself to death!” Seokjin yells, stamping his foot as he hurries to go grab the two towels.

“But we're s-swimming!” Jungkook whines, his tongue clicking as his shivering gave it away.

Seokjin ignored Jiyoo and Jungkook’s complaints to continue swimming and pulls Jungkook out first. It was easy for Seokjin to drape a towel over the younger one’s head, pushing him over to Jimin who was already ready to help.

Jungkook was shocked and already sulking as he was pulled away from Jiyoo. The fact that Seokjin had done it so easily made him salty. “How did he-”

“Nobody disobeys hyung’s words.” Jimin says, not missing the way that Jungkook eyed out his arms.

Jungkook’s arms were much smaller compared to the rest of the Alphas. The sight of Jungkook’s jealous expression made Jimin chuckle, pulling him to the side so he could warm up and find a place to sit.

Jiyoo was the next to come out, but instead of going closer to Seokjin, she swam farther into the center of the pool where nobody could touch her.

“Jiyoo, come here.” Seokjin says firmly, letting out a sigh as Jiyoo shakes her head.

“I wanna s-swim.” Jiyoo shivers.

If her purple lips didn't give it away that she was starting to freeze, then her teeth chattering did. Now that she was swimming, it made her even colder. The cold washed swished past her bare skin and she clenched her teeth to ignore the pain.

“We were having fun hyung.” Jungkook grumbles, though he doesn't complain about Jimin grabbing another towel for him so he could dry off more.

Jiyoo nods her head and continues to attempt to kick her legs to stay afloat. Eventually she'd gotten tired and opted to bounce in the water, her head going under the water as she touched the floor and kicked back up to the surface. Jiyoo would have to hold her breath as she went underwater and gasped for air when she emerged.

Her genius moment was short lived, for the others were worried that she was drowning, but weren't entirely sure since she kept coming back up to the top.

“Stop trying to drown yourself!” Seokjin cries out. He's almost ripping his hair out not, just wanting Jiyoo to come out of the water already.

“Jiyoo!”

Jiyoo’s head turns and she sees Jimin squatting near the edge of the pool. “You're not having fun if Jungkook isn't in the pool though, right?”

Jiyoo’s eyes wandered off to the side where she saw Jungkook sitting down in the grass. He was shivering a little still, but he still had a content expression on his face as he zoned out from his lack of energy.

“Yeah…” Jiyoo says softly.

Jimin waves a hand and motions for her to swim back to the stairs of the pool. Jiyoo finally listens, though she swims at a slow pace until her shoulders managed to break the surface. After that, she dashed out quickly. Her arms hugged herself in a weak attempt to stay warm.

Before she could run over to Jungkook to share the towel with him, a warm fluff of towel had encircled around her. She shut her eyes as a the warmth rippled through her entire body. Jiyoo was too happy to be concerned about who had put the towel around her. She cuddled into the towel and let out a sigh, finally opening her eyes to find that it was Seokjin who had wrapped the towel around her.

Being raised by Jungkook’s father, she knew basic manners. And what happens when you receive a gift from someone?

“Thank you.” Jiyoo smiles, putting her all into thanking Seokjin for what she thought was a wonderful present.

The shocked expression on Seokjin’s face was pretty obvious, and Jiyoo felt her hands get clammy under the towel. Had she done something wrong? She was just about to turn and look at Jungkook to see if he knew what she should do, but instead of turning, she was pulled forward into Seokjin’s chest.

He held her in his arms, not to the point where she was being crushed, but just enough that it kept her firmly in place despite how she was moving to try and escape. It didn’t feel too uncomfortable, but the action coming from the usual level headed Seokjin scared her a little.

“P-Please, let go.” Jiyoo says, her voice muffled by Seokjin’s chest.

Jungkook immediately stood up and speed walked over to Seokjin, his pheromones emitting from his body as he grabbed Jiyoo. Her body didn’t move from Seokjin’s hold, causing Jungkook to get even more upset.

“Hyung what are you doing?” Jungkook says, trying to keep himself level headed even though his pheromones were already attacking the latter so that he would let Jiyoo go.

Jiyoo continued to get jostled around as Jungkook and Seokjin fought for her like some sort of toy.

Namjoon saw her distress and didn’t wait to try and help her. “Seokjin hyung-”

“Go away.” Seokjin growls.

The animalistic side of Seokjin was starting to appear and the other Alphas knew it right away as soon as they felt his pheromones radiating off of him. Jungkook raced forward and didn’t hesitate to try to break them apart. His strength was no match for Seokjin though. Jungkook was easily shrugged off as Seokjin continued to hold Jiyoo for himself.

“Let go of her hyung!” Jungkook shouts, trying his best to free Jiyoo.

Seokjin’s eyes were tightly shut as his face began to turn red. “D-Don’t you think I’m trying?”

It sounded as though Seokjin were trying to fight himself and the others knew that wasn’t a good sign.

“Jimin, Hoseok. You two grab Seokjin.” Namjoon says, seriousness easily heard in his voice as he dropped honorifics.

The two didn’t hesitate to loop their hands around Seokjin’s arms, but even their combined strength wasn’t enough. Jiyoo’s panicked cries didn’t help the situation either. It appeared as though her mewling for help was stirring up the other Alphas as well.

Jungkook watched as Namjoon tried to control the situation himself and stepped in so he could help. “Hyung, let me-”

“You sit.” Namjoon commands, causing Jungkook’s body to crumble to the floor. “Yoongi! Grab Jiyoo!”

“What?” Jungkook gasps, though he’s no match for Namjoon’s order. “Let me help!”

Namjoon turns to look at Jungkook. His face was visibly irritated and he grit his teeth together to keep himself as calm as he could. “You’ve done enough Jungkook.”

Jungkook sits on the ground, his hands balled into fists as he watches the commotion ensue. Even with Hoseok, Jimin, and Namjoon working together, they couldn’t beat Seokjin’s brute strength. Taehyung stood off to the side, his hand stuck amidst the mess as he tugged on to Seokjin’s shirt for him to let go.

“I told you to stop ing doing this.”

“Give her back!” Seokjin snarls, practically losing his mind as Suga managed to pull Jiyoo away from him.

Jiyoo was now in Suga’s hands, literally. Instead of being held close in Seokjin’s arms, Suga had his hands gripped around her shoulders as he dragged her off to the side. The way that he was holding Jiyoo made her face him and it allowed her to see how pissed he looked.

“I-I’m not doing any-”

“Bull!” Jiyoo flinches as Suga raised his voice. Suga was always one of the more scarier ones, but he’s never yelled at her like this before. Jiyoo felt her heartbeat almost jump out of her chest as Suga shook her back and forth.

“Calm yourself down before I make you calm down!” Suga roars, his fingers digging into Jiyoo’s arms.

Shutting her eyes, Jiyoo had no choice but to try the impossible. She knew her pheromones were coming out, but she didn’t have the faintest idea how to stop it. Everything was overwhelming her at once: Seokjin’s pained screams and Suga’s pheromones practically suffocating her. It was all too much.

Before she could scream from the pressure, Jiyoo’s body slumped in Suga’s arms. She was unconscious.

The flow of pheromones coming from her had stopped and it only took a few short moments for Seokjin to realize that Jiyoo was no longer in distress, thus allowing him to calm down. He dropped to his knees and was breathing heavily.

Although Seokjin was the eldest, he rarely used his pheromones like this. The situation caused his Alpha pheromones to constantly pour out for a few minutes. It was taxing and his body couldn’t take the amount of energy lost- making him collapse once it was over.

They were all on edge and only after Suga had dropped Jiyoo off with Jungkook did time begin to move again.

“... Is everyone okay?” Jimin asks nervously, watching as everyone slowly began to loosen up.

Seokjin was more or less fine now that he could catch his breath, and everyone else seemed okay too. The only person that hadn’t said a word was Jungkook. His face was concerned for Jiyoo, who laid limp in his arms.

“Did you really have to knock her unconscious?” Namjoon looks at Suga who says nothing.

The latter walked far away from everyone else, slumping down against the edge of the house as he just puts his face in his hands. Jimin leaves the rest of the group to go and talk to him. Jungkook doesn’t miss the fraction of a second that Jimin’s eyes lingered on Jiyoo before he’d left.

“You can put her down now.”

Jungkook pulls Jiyoo close as Namjoon walks over to them. He doesn’t want anyone near Jiyoo right now.

“Stop hogging her for yourself Jungkook.” Taehyung groans.

“I can’t. Not yet.” Jungkook says softly.

Taehyung took Jungkook’s words as an act of defiance and advanced closer to the two. He ignored Namjoon, who told him to take a step back. Namjoon noticed it.The way that Jungkook held Jiyoo in his arms wasn’t his usual jealous reaction. His face looked scared, but Namjoon didn’t know why-

“Just let me hold her!”

Until Taehyung released just a bit of Alpha pheromones to scare Jungkook, and Namjoon heard Jiyoo’s cry for Jungkook in her sleep.

“Jungkook...” Jiyoo croaked, her voice cracking a bit.

Her pheromones spiraled out of control and covered the entire area in an instant, causing the rest of the guys to go insane.

“Jiyoo-yah, I’m right here.” Jungkook cooed. He hissed as Taehyung continued to try and get close to them. Jungkook used his foot to kick Taehyung away as he held Jiyoo close.

He wasn’t alone though, and Jungkook had more to worry about than just Taehyung’s usual clingy behavior. Seokjin’s wild eyes appeared in an instant, but was immediately restrained by Namjoon and Hoseok. Since Jimin was with Suga, it was harder to pull Seokjin back with just the two of them.

“Calm her down Jungkook!” Namjoon grunts, having a hard time grabbing Seokjin and keeping a firm hold on the latter.

“I’m having a bit of trouble here.” Jungkook grumbles. Taehyung was becoming more forceful as time went by. He held Jungkook’s foot and yanked him back, causing Jungkook to fall flat on his back with Jiyoo wide open to be snatched away.

Jimin watched from a distance as Seokjin slowly dragged himself closer to where Jiyoo was. He frantically looked at Suga who looked exhausted just watching the scene unfold.

“Hyung, can’t you put her unconscious again?” Jimin asks worriedly.

The closer Seokjin got to Jiyoo, the more Taehyung had begun to manhandle Jungkook. Taehyung’s eyes were alight with a fiery determination and if Jiyoo was awake, she would’ve known that he had the same look from when they were in the treehouse.

He wanted Jiyoo and nobody was going to stop him.

Hearing Jimin speak was a heavy blow to Suga. He grit his teeth together and just shook his head.

“I can’t.” Suga sighs, burying his face into his hands again.

His voice sounds heartbroken and Jimin puts a hand on Suga’s shoulder, only to have it be slapped away by the latter.

“Hyung!” Jimin shouts. “Can you at least try-”

“It’s because I didn’t knock her out on purpose!” Suga bellows, his voice echoing in the air. His pained cry attracted the attention of some of the others and only Seokjin and Taehyung who weren’t right in their minds ignored him.

“What do you mean?” Jimin whispers, his voice barely heard over Seokjin’s screams.

Suga frustratedly ruffles his hair. He tried his best to calm her down rationally without using his Alpha pheromones. When that didn’t work, he remembered how Namjoon and Jungkook had calmed Jiyoo down using their Alpha pheromones. In his mind, it seemed easy. He just needed to wrap his pheromones around her and she’d calm down, right?

Wrong. Instead, he prevented her from breathing and knocked her out.

He’d never had any problems using his Alpha pheromones in the past and took pride in the power that was stronger than many of the Alphas around him. When Jiyoo lay unconscious in his arms, he realized couldn’t even do what the brat Jungkook could do. He wasn’t strong enough to save Jiyoo.

But since he couldn’t say that, he just took his anger out on the things around him instead.

Suga rammed his fist against the side of the house. The wood scratched the side of his hand, but he didn’t care and continued to release his frustrations as he hurt himself more.

“You don’t have the will to bond with her. That’s why you couldn’t help her.”

Suga glared at Jimin who shook his head frantically, pointing behind Suga to show he was innocent. A small gust of wind blew past Suga, and by the time his eyes had focused, a God had appeared.

Aka Jungkook’s father.

It wasn’t too hard for him to get to Jiyoo, mostly because he’d smoked the place out with his own Alpha pheromones to immobilize the rest of the boys. They’d all frozen in place, allowing him to assess Jiyoo’s condition in a much calmer manner.

“D-Dad, stop it.” Jungkook hisses. His body felt like it was being smashed by a rock. Eventually his arms were under too much pressure and he’d released his protective hold on Jiyoo, who was still having a nightmare in Jungkook’s lap.

Ignoring his son for the nth time that week, Jungkook’s father walks over to him and Jiyoo. He went down on one knee and watched as Jiyoo continued to groan in her sleep.

“Calm down Jiyoo-yah.” Jungkook’s father sighs, placing a single hand over her eyes.

It was as if she were completely conscious and aware of the situation. hung open a little, but her cries immediately ceased as soon as Jungkook’s father had told her to relax.

The silence afterwards was eerie, especially since none of the boys could move. Jungkook’s father continued to keep them under the influence of his pheromones, which kept them unmoving despite that Jiyoo’s nightmare was over.

She’d woken up a little after that. Since everyone around her was in a standstill, she could only look to Jungkook’s father for some sort of explanation.

“Go home Jiyoo.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen as he heard those words spill from his father’s lips. He struggles to move his limbs still and can only watch from behind as Jiyoo stood up and slowly walked back into the house.

“J-Jiyoo don’t listen to him.” Jungkook grimaced. He turned to look at his father and felt the amount of Alpha pheromones crushing him almost triple in pressure.

Jiyoo stops after hearing Jungkook’s voice and turns around, revealing an empty soul rather than a teenage girl. Her happy smile was completely erased, and it looked as though she’d had the life right out of her.

It wasn’t the best friend he knew and loved. Just a hollow shell of her.

“I’m sorry Jungkook.” Was all she said before she went into the house and went home for the night.

A/N: Hoooo boy that's a stressful chapter. I hope you guys are liking the story so far because I have GOOD and BAD news.

Bad news: My boss gave me an extra day to work so I might be updating less

Good news: That shouldn't affect me uploading at least once a week because that will break the agreement that I have for... MY GIVEAWAY!

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