“Uncle Jinsun!” Jungkook’s voice booms throughout the mansion-like estate. His rushed footsteps are heard against the marble floor until he’d finally seen Jiyoo with his two eyes. Not looking at anything else, Jungkook rushes towards her and pulls Jiyoo into his arms. The feeling of anxiety immediately rushes out of Jiyoo’s system, allowing her to enjoy the feeling of Jungkook being by her side again.

“Jinsun hyung, where have you been all this time?” Jungkook’s father almost demands.

Jiyoo doesn’t miss the small disappointed look that Jungkook’s uncle had thrown her way before going to talk to his brother. “Traveling. Didn’t you see my note?”

“Do you mean the note you left in the card after the funeral?”

There was a bitter way that Jungkook’s father had spoken, but Jungkook’s uncle merely nodded his head. “Good. And I was traveling- Oh! Meet my daughter Jungah!”

Jungkook’s father is confused, but doesn’t hesitate to look where his brother was motioning towards. Now that Jungah was the center of attention, she bows. “Hello. My name is Jungah. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Jungkook’s uncle is delighted to see that everyone had begun to introduce themselves to one another, ignoring the confused looks on the guys’ faces. “Anyways- I already told Jiyoo, but I have a surprise for you!”

Jungkook feels Jiyoo tense up in his arms, but before he could ask her what was wrong, he was interrupted by his uncle.

“You officially have a prospect for a mate!” He cheers, unaware of how nobody else was as excited as he was by the surprise.

Hearing of a mate, Jungkook looks down at Jiyoo, but doesn’t get an answer from her. Instead, he’s met with the crown of her head as she continues to look down at the floor. Jiyoo didn’t want to look him in the eye after experiencing something so humiliating. She’d been practically built up this whole time after months of hanging out with the guys only to have her self confidence shatter in an instant after meeting Jungkook’s uncle. She doesn’t dare look at Jungah, already feeling the pressure build in .

“Excuse me sir,” Namjoon intervenes, “I don’t think we’re following. Jungkook doesn’t officially have a mate.”

“Don’t be silly young man. Namjoon, was it?” Jungkook’s uncle asks quickly before walking over to his daughter. “I’m talking about Jungah as his mate.”

More silence engulfs the room. It’s obvious that everyone is still confused and bewildered by what was going on, but nobody dared to speak. At least, mostly everyone didn’t.

“But I thought Jiyoo was going to be our mate?” Taehyung says, oblivious to the mood in the room.

Jungkook’s uncle shakes his head. “That can’t happen, my boy. According to my research, those two are like brother and sister, aren’t they not?”

It was Jungkook’s father’s turn to be upset. “You were keeping tabs on my son? And Jungah is Jungkook’s cousin, they can’t-”

“Hush, let me speak.” Jungkook’s uncle interrupts. “Think about it: They’re both Alphas and she’s one of the most beautiful flowers in the garden. Why argue about this, right boys?”

“It would help if she wasn’t emitting pheromones all over the damn place.”

Jungkook’s father sighs, looking at his new niece with a bit of indifference. She technically was a part of his kin if his brother had decided to get remarried, but he wasn’t exactly happy that Jiyoo needed to be dragged into this in order for him to find out.

Jiyoo looks up at the scene and resists the urge to gasp. Not only did she find all of the guys’ attention focused on Jungah, but she’d pulled away from Jungkook to find him just as starstruck as well. She knew that something was weird about Jungah, not because she was so pretty that it almost seemed unreal, but her presence to Jiyoo felt a bit forced. If Jungah was putting out Alpha pheromones, that meant she could make Jiyoo, as an Omega, feel smaller or worse-

Make herself look more appealing towards others as well.

“Well.. She’s not ugly, but..” Namjoon sighs. He tries to ignore the way that Jungkook’s uncle was practically dancing after hearing that.

“And don’t you want to catch up and hear about my adventures while I was gone? Just like the old times?” Jungkook’s uncle goes over to his brother and loops an arm around Jungkook’s father’s shoulders.

It wasn’t like Jungkook’s father could really disagree since even he was curious as to what his brother, who didn’t bother to keep in contact, had been up to over the past few years. “Can I talk to you? Alone, please?”

The two walk off, leaving Jiyoo, Jungah and the rest of the guys. It was awkward, sure, but Jungah had been the first person to try and break the ice.

“Sorry about him, my dad..” Jungah says with a small sigh. “Still trying to get used to calling him that.”

She chuckles and some of the boys find themselves smiling at that, such a simple action being cute in their eyes. Jiyoo tries to smile too, eventually forcing the corners of her lips to rise up after feeling as though she wasn’t smiling enough.

“So.. Do any of you play games, or?”

“I do!”

Jiyoo’s eyes widen. She’d know that voice from anywhere. Looking behind her, she finds that Jungkook’s face was slightly flushed, as if he were embarrassed after answering so strongly. He was. “I-I mean, I do..” His voice tapers off.

Jungah could only smile at that. “Nice. I play games too. When I’m not in the studio, at least.”

“Studio?” This caught the attention of Suga’s ears. “You write music?”

“Sometimes.” Jungah admits. “My mom was really strong about me having extra curriculars, so make music here and there when I don’t have dance or piano practice.”

“You dance too?” Hoseok says with a gasp. He doesn’t hide his excitement as soon as it comes to a topic that he likes. “I dance too! Along with Jimin, of course. Right Jimin? Jimin?”

Jimin blinks once and nods his head at whatever Hoseok managed to say. He wasn’t really listening. The only thing that was on his mind was the weird expression on Jiyoo’s face. It was almost as if she were having fun along with the rest of them and yet suffering at the same time. He’s never seen her smile so much in such a simple setting before and it bothered him. It was unnatural.

While Suga and Hoseok continued to ask about her musical background, Jimin had snuck around the group over to where Jiyoo was. He taps her shoulder, causing her to jump a bit. “Relax, it’s just me.”

“Oh. Sorry Jimin oppa.” Jiyoo says with a grin.

The sight made Jimin squint a bit, confused again by her behavior. “Are you alright Jiyoo?”

His question made her smile falter. She still managed to keep the odd grin on her face, but the way her eyes began to water said otherwise. Jiyoo stares up at him for a bit before shaking her head. “I’m fine. Why?”

Jimin nods, but doesn’t say anything more. Now he knows that something is up and can only trace it back towards any sudden change, which was Jungah. He makes sure to stay by Jiyoo’s side for the remainder of their stay, eventually locking his fingers between her own as she continues to laugh whenever the others laugh. Jimin also thought it was weird because even as he continued to keep his skinship with Jiyoo, Jungkook didn’t even bother to split them apart. He was too busy asking Jungah about how many skins she’d unlocked in Overwatch to spare them a second glance.

It wasn’t like Jimin didn’t like Jungah. He had to admit that her appearance and the fact that her pheromones smelled so nice peaked his interest just a bit. Jimin was still worried about Jiyoo though.

Guilt pooled in his stomach during the car ride to Jungkook’s uncle’s house. If he wasn’t thinking just for himself, Jiyoo wouldn’t have been kidnapped. Technically it was fine since she was with a relative of Jungkook’s, but what if that wasn’t the case? If Jiyoo had been taken and they weren’t able to find her, Jimin would be devastated. And seeing her so choked up, he knew that he was in his right mind to stay by her side until she felt better.

Unfortunately for him, Jiyoo’s attitude didn’t change. Not when they were all in the car, or on the drive back after leaving Jungkook’s uncle’s house. While the rest of his friends were talking animatedly about going back to Jungah’s house, as they’d eventually started calling it, Jimin peered in the direction of the shotgun seat where Jiyoo sat. He could see her face in the window, only reflecting something akin to sadness and despair.

“Can you drop me off at my house today Uncle?” Jiyoo asks quietly.

Jungkook’s father looks at the latter for a split second before sighing. “Don’t let it get to you kiddo. And I’m really sorry you had to go through all of that. My brother is a bit of an .”

She chuckles as Jungkook’s father ruffles her hair, going back to looking out the window as they drive home. Jimin, who witnessed the scene, grew even more worried about Jiyoo now. As soon as they’d reached her house, Jiyoo hopped out of the car and yelled goodbye to everyone as a whole. Seeing her small frame slowly walk towards her front door, Jimin knew he couldn’t leave her. While Seokjin was hopping into the front seat, Jimin made his move to get out of the car.

“I’ll be over after I talk to Jiyoo about something.” He says quickly to Jungkook’s father. The latter is surprised, but smiles a bit and nods his head at Jimin’s effort to check on Jiyoo.

Something about the fact that nobody else in the car spared Jiyoo a second glance irritated the hell out of Jimin.

“Jiyoo wait!” He calls out, causing her to stop unlocking her door. She doesn’t turn around, instead waiting for Jimin to say whatever he was going to say. Jimin wants to talk to her face to face and looks back, already seeing that Jungkook’s father had driven back home. “They’re gone, you know.”

There’s a moment of silence before Jiyoo finally turns around, revealing a sight that broke Jimin’s heart. Her eyes were soulless and the only thing he could think of doing was pulling her into a hug.

“Jimin.. It hurts..”

Jimin hugs her tighter, only to feel Jiyoo begin to push him away. When she breaks free, she drops to the ground right on her . He immediately goes to check and see if she had fainted or worse, but finds her ankle angrily swollen and red. “Where are your shoes? Why is your ankle all red?”

Jiyoo could only frown, pursing her lips together to try and ignore the pain that flared in her leg. “When they pulled me into the van, I hit my foot against the doorframe.”

Jimin doesn’t hesitate to take Jiyoo’s keys and unlock the door, ultimately carrying Jiyoo inside before settling her on her bed. Jiyoo doesn’t know what’s going on through his head as he rummages through her fridge. He looks mad, but also a bit disappointed for some reason. Jimin returns with a bottle of water and kneels down by her ankle. He stops momentarily, giving her a small glance to see if it was okay before she’d nodded, allowing him to press the bottle against her ankle.

The pain increased tenfold in that very moment, causing Jiyoo to want to jerk her entire leg away if possible. Jimin made sure that she didn’t hurt herself more though, continuing to hold the cold water bottle to her ankle until she’d stopped struggling.

“Hold this. I’ll try to find something to help.” He gives Jiyoo the water bottle before walking off. “Where’s your first aid kid Jiyoo?”

“On top of the fridge.” She says, watching as Jimin gets the kit with ease before returning to her side.

He uses one of the tan colored wraps and makes sure that her ankle is wrapped tightly, while still being loose enough to allow blood flow. “This should help. Hopefully anyways.”

Jimin finally takes a seat on the bed next to Jiyoo, leaning back against the wall as she continues to hold the water bottle to her sprained ankle. Or at least, Jimin thought it was sprained. Seokjin was better at looking at things like this, but since he was too busy gushing about how cool the kitchen was at Jungah’s house, Jimin was the next best thing.

“Are you sure you’re alright Jiyoo?” Jimin asks carefully.

It was only the two of them now, meaning that Jiyoo didn’t have to keep her guard up anymore. She opens to speak, but no words come out. Instead she decides to lean against his shoulder.

“Do you think that we’re all going to stay friends?”

Jimin doesn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes, of course.”

He turns and looks at Jiyoo, who doesn’t seem too convinced. “Is this because of Jungah?”

Jiyoo looks up at him for a split second before looking away. “Yes..”

Jimin smiles a bit, letting out a small chuckle. “You’re so silly. Of course we’re all going to stay friends.”

“But Jungkook’s uncle said they’re going to be mates.” Jiyoo whispered, referring to Jungkook and Jungah. “And if they become mates, you’re all going to be mates and we can’t hang out anymore.”

“You dummy.” Jimin reaches over and pulls Jiyoo into his chest. He makes sure not to guide her in a way that would hurt her ankle, but brings a hand up to knock against her forehead as if to reprimand her a bit. “Just because you become mates with someone, doesn’t mean that you can’t be friends with anybody else. Who told you that anyways?”

“Jungkook’s uncle told me that I’d have to stay away from Jungkook though.. So I thought it applied to you guys too because mating happens in groups..”

Jimin doesn’t know whether to laugh or be angry at this point. He wants to laugh, mostly because Jiyoo thinks that he’s just going to suddenly want Jungah to be his mate just because she somehow managed to pop into their lives. But he also feels angry at Jungkook’s uncle for feeding Jiyoo lies. He was probably the reason that she was feeling down in the first place, not to mention that he was the cause of her injured ankle.

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

It was Jiyoo’s turn to be confused. She looks at Jimin and waits for him to speak.

“Can we hang out this Friday?” He asks, looking down at his lap. “It’s my birthday and I want to hang out.”

There’s a bit of silence before Jiyoo chuckles. It’s just a small puff of air in the beginning, quickly getting louder as she sees the goofy grin on Jimin’s face.

“Of course we can.” She laughs a little more, “You’re the birthday boy after all.”

Jimin smiles and holds Jiyoo in his arms, the two enjoying each other’s company after having such a stressful morning. While Jimin began to doze off, Jiyoo couldn’t help but feel wide awake as she continued to worry.

Jungkook was her best friend after all. Knowing that his attention was on someone else other than her made her feel weird. It wasn’t as if she wanted to steal his attention 24/7, but after remembering how happy he looked talking to Jungah, she just felt something strange stick in the pit of . He’s never seen his face flush like that before unless he was sick. And she knew that Jungkook being sick wasn’t the case at all in this situation.

She just hoped that they’d all stay friends just like what Jimin said. The thought of her friends leaving her for Jungah popped into her mind and she unconsciously found herself curling up more towards Jimin, who’d jolted awake from the sudden movement. She’d woken him up and apologized profusely, only for Jimin to shake his head once and pull her into a laying down position on her bed.

Jimin’s never done anything like this before and the action made Jiyoo nervous for what was to come. She waits, expecting something to happen when she hears a light snore come from Jimin. That’s when her body relaxes. It wasn’t as if she trusted Jimin, but the fact that they were alone in her apartment and together on a bed would stir some trouble if given no context of the situation.

Cuddling up to him once again, Jiyoo shuts her eyes and tries to ignore the scary thoughts that bombarded her mind. She just didn’t want to lose her friends. Jiyoo dozes off after thinking too hard, finding herself slowly relaxing as Jimin’s soft breaths pulled her to sleep.