Namjoon, being the astute leader he was, was the first one to notice that something was off with Hoseok, Jimin and Taehyung when the three acted out of character for the first time by throwing tantrums over trivial things and being clingier and more unreasonable than usual. Of course, the main rapper had tried to talk to them once they had free time but the three weren't even aware of their own condition and it was bothering themselves as well but they never really had much time to sweat over it since they had busy schedules every day.

Namjoon dismissed the matter as well, when the three recollected themselves again. However, just when he thought that everything was normal again, Jimin burst into his room one afternoon, crying and sobbing out incoherent words.

"Calm down first, Jimin-ah. Everything will be fine, now take a breathe and tell me what's bothering you," Namjoon closed the door and lead Jimin to the desk, sitting down with him.

Jimin sniffled and coughed a few times before continuing, "D-don't know, just sad..."

Namjoon stared at the younger male for a moment before awkwardly pulling the latter into his arms and patting his back in an attempt to comfort his band member.

"It's okay, you can tell me whenever you want, I will always be there to support you, not only me, also the other members are here for you, okay?" Jimin nodded.

"Th-thank you...Hyung..." Jimin's voice came out muffled since he currently had his face buried in the crook of Namjoon's neck.

"No problem, just don't let it affect your work so much, since we are stepping closer to our dream after all. Cheer up, you don't want to worry the fans, now do you?" Namjoon asked and patted his back again. Jimin nodded again and sniffed. Namjoon waited for a few minutes for Jimin to calm down, but even after ten minutes, Jimin wouldn't let go of him and clinged onto him as if his life depended on him. Namjoon awkwardly cleared his throat and shifted a bit. When he tried to free himself from the younger vocalist, Jimin began to cry again, startling him considerably.

As if on cue, the door opened, revealing a perplexed Jin at the door frame as the intruder took in the sight in front of him.

"Is...everything alright?" Jin asked, a bit unsure.

"I don't know, Jimin has been like this ever since he entered my room, I am confused myself!" Namjoon exclaimed helplessly, throwing his right hand up in the air.

Seokjin approached the two slowly and crouched down beside them. "Jimin-ah, you can trust us with your problems, we will help you. Come on, let's go wash your face first, it will refresh you." Jin put his hand on Jimin's shoulder but the youngest of the three shook him off almost immediately. "Don't wanna, I w-want Joonie-hyung!"

That's when it hit Namjoon. "Hyung, doesn't it seem familiar to you?" He asked, eyes wide in realization.

Jin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What does?"

"Jimin's acting weird again! Do you remember when he and Taehyungie had a fight over the TV remote and threw a tantrum?"

Seokjin looked at Namjoon for a short second before diverting his gaze to the mentioned male. "Now that you mention it..."

"This actually isn't the first time, apparently, Taehyung and Hoseok have the same problem," Namjoon informed him, "Just recently, Hobi made a big fuss when Yoongi was gone for his schedule, he wouldn't stop crying! Apart from that, Taehyung got all excited over a plushie in the shop and ran all over the place as if he was on drugs! I thought something was wrong! I searched it up online before when I noticed their weird behavior, but I wasn't sure if it was the right answer..."

Jin nodded slowly, seemingly deep in thought. Then, he the laptop and opened the google tab.

After a few minutes, Jin nudged Namjoon's side and drew his attention to the screen, "Joon, have a look at this... I think I kinda get the situation now."

Namjoon eyed the familiar title of the article, he had read that article before when he did the research: 'Little Space'.

After reading the description carefully — for the second time now — Namjoon looked at Seokjin, his face void of any expression.

 "V-hyung, stop! It tickles!" The maknae laughed aloud as Taehyung suddenly jumped on his back, wrapping his long limbs around him and began kissing him on the cheek non-stop. Soon, after tickling the younger male for about five minutes, Taehyung got bored and tired, thus he got off Jungkook and walked over to the couch and plopped himself down next to J-Hope, who was engrossed in the cartoons on the television.

After steadying his breath, Jungkook sat down on the floor and began observing the two in amusement and curiosity. The show was dedicated to small children and utterly uninteresting and silly for people their age, but Hoseok and Taehyung were watching it with such interest and concentration Jungkook almost laughed out loud at his adorable hyungs.

"Is the show that good?" Jungkook asked them, lips curving up in a lopsided smirk in amusement.

Taehyung nodded vigorously and grinned, eyes still glued on the bright screen, "It's really good, Kookie!"

"Now repeat after me, 'giraffe'!" came from the colorful 2D figure in the TV. Jungkook assumed that it was a hunter since it was holding a long shoot gun and it was wearing a trilby with a green feather attached to it — very typical, he thought.

"Giraffe!" Hoseok repeated enthusiastically and giggled, apparently proud of himself for his excellent pronunciation. Jungkook halted for a moment, staring incredulously at J-Hope, his eyes wide open and lips slightly parted — he may look dumb right now but you really couldn't blame him. Jungkook gaped at Hoseok for a good few moments since his brain wasn't keeping up and it took a lot more time to register and comprehend what had just happened.

Taehyung giggled along with Hoseok and repeated after him, "Jeeraff!" That's when Jungkook finally realized that something was not right with the two.

Jungkook got up from the floor and positioned himself between them and the television, causing them to whine in protest.

"Kookie, can't see!" Taehyung complained with a pout. Hoseok frowned and looked up at the youngest with confusion and dissatisfaction evident in his eyes, "Kookie, go away!"

Jungkook raised his eyebrows in surprise but remained undeterred on his spot in front of them nevertheless. "Hey, is everything alright with you guys? You are acting quite..." Jungkook paused and searched for the right word but couldn't come up with any, so he spoke what first came to his mind, "...childish, I would say. Not that you are not, normally, but today, you guys are exceptionally childish."

Hoseok gasped and huffed in disagreement while Taehyung widened his eyes in disheartenment, his lips began to wobble and his eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to escape, "Kookie no l-love Taetae a-anymore?" Jungkook furrowed his brows in bewilderment in response to Taehyung's strange way of speaking. "Hyung, what, I mean — why aren't you using proper grammar? — No, I mean, I do love you, but," Jungkook was thrown off balance as soon as he saw tears running down Taehyung's cheeks as the latter whimpered aloud, he panicked and couldn't help but stutter, "Why-why-why are you crying? God, I-I am sorry, hyung, please, please don't cry! Please! — Oh dear—" The usually almighty 'Golden Maknae' pulled his hair in frustration. Jungkook had never felt so lost and so utterly befuddled, he didn't know what to do about this whole situation that somehow escalated.

Taehyung didn't even listen to him anymore and just continued bawling his eyes out vehemently, tears falling from his eyes uncontrollably. It literally pained Jungkook's heart to see his favorite hyung cry so dolorously. Immediately, Jungkook fell to his knees in front of the vocalist, clumsily yet gently swiping off his tears with his own hands, "I am sorry, hyung, don't cry anymore, please?"

Taehyung sobbed and coughed a little bit at the lack of air. Jungkook never thought that seeing Taehyung cry would hurt him this much physically, it was even worse than someone stabbing and slicing through his heart with a knife. Jungkook felt himself tearing up in regret and guilt. He carefully pulled the elder into his embrace and softly ran his fingers over the latter's silky light brown hair, trying his best to calm Taehyung and himself down.

J-Hope watched Taehyung cry and soon followed his lead, sobbing even louder than Taehyung. The others entered the room at the noise. Jimin was now clinging onto Jin like a koala, still sniffling a bit, while the latter rubbed comforting circles on his back.

"What the is going on, may I ask?" Yoongi spoke up, voice laced with a hint of annoyance, he then narrowed his eyes in confusion as the scene enrolled before them. As soon as Hoseok caught sight of the black haired male, he quickly got up from the couch and ran into his arms, almost sending Yoongi and himself down to the floor. "Yoonyoon-hyung!" Despite being slightly surprised and puzzled by the younger's action, the lead rapper put his arms around Hoseok nevertheless.

Namjoon gave Seokjin a meaningful glance whereas the latter nodded his head in response. "They are in their little space," Jin stated matter-of-factly.

"What space?" Yoongi repeated, utterly baffled. Jungkook also turned to look at them, trying hard to decipher what Jin was talking about.

"They are 'little' right now, which means, their mindset is now that of a little child," Namjoon explained calmly.

Yoongi and Jungkook couldn't believe what he was saying and they were having a hard time processing the new information given to them. Jin and Namjoon understood very well how they were feeling right now so they gave them time to compose themselves.

"Will...will they be alright?" Jungkook was the first to speak up after a while of silence, his voice laced with concern and worry as his arms instinctively tightened around Taehyung, who was now hiccuping and sniffling quietly, his head resting safely on his shoulder.

"Yeah, this is nothing to worry about as it is only temporary. However, they could slip into their head space again, anytime and anywhere, if they want to or if they are stressed or put under pressure. It actually helps them reduce stress as they are only able to think like a child in this state, completely carefree and relaxed," Seokjin replied, trying his best to explain the condition of the three while his left hand patted Jimin's pink hair in a consoling way.

Jungkook subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief and closed his eyes, "Thank god," he felt mentally exhausted.

"It is quite dangerous to leave them alone when they are in 'little space' so it is absolutely essential that we take care of them," Namjoon asserted.

Yoongi looked at Hoseok who stared back at him with big innocent eyes, making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

After a few moments of silence — casting aside the small sniffles from the 'Littles' — Yoongi opened his mouth to speak, "Don't worry, I'll protect them no matter what, we are a team after all."

~~~~~

A/N: 

That's it for today, I'll update soon when I have time. Since I love this ff myself, I am sure it won't take long for the next update, so stay tuned!

It would motivate me even more if you leave a comment or upvote the story. :)
I am always open for new ideas and suggestions, and please don't be afraid, you can suggest anything you want, I will do my best to fulfill your wish and include your requests in my story!
Of course, I am also more than happy to take criticisms in regard to my mistakes, as they help me improve my writing skills. :D

I will keep on trying my best, see you soon!

~ Pabosshi