Jungkook effortlessly belted out the last notes of the chorus. He heard the music cut from his headphones abruptly, followed by the sound of Rapmon' voice over the mic. "Good job, Kookie! Take a minute break and then we'll start with the second verse. Yah, this song you wrote is really nice coupled with my track." Jungkook smiled at his hyung through the big glass mirror and gave a thumbs up. Out of the three songs that were approved so far for his next solo album, this was his favorite. It was about growing old and seeing how his dongsaengs were growing and maturing, too, and remembering how he used to be like that. 

______________

One night, Jungkook came home to once again find that his Rapmon hyung had not gone to bed yet. In fact, he hadn't come home yet. Jungkook assumed he was still in the studio, working on finishing their next album, HYYH, pt. 2. 

Jungkook threw his things on the bed and plopped down on his stomach. He debated whether or not he should shower, as he had just come from practice with Jimin, J-Hope, and V. J-hope went to help Jin with dinner, and Jimin and V were probably washing up. It was around 2am now, and the dorm was quiet save for the clanging from the kitchen. Jungkook settled in the familiar feeling that this was his home.

Hours later, in the dark, Jungkook heard the bedroom door open and close with a thud. Without opening his eyes, he knew it was Rapmon by the sound of his footsteps. He was struck by the thought that after years of living together, he could even know his hyungs by such means. 

He heard the creak of the opposite bed as Rapmon settled in it. Jungkook was about to fall asleep when he heard sniffling. Lifting his head to look at the opposite end of the room, he could see Rapmon's silhouette against the small, square, curtainless window, and he saw his shoulders shaking.

The sight of it broke Jungkook's heart. As the maknae, he felt so powerless when he saw his hyungs like this. He was never good with words of comfort or serious topics. As he watched Rapmon's shoulders heave, his chest hurt, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He felt guilty; after all these years, he still didn't know how to comfort his hyungs. He really was just a kid, after all.

At that moment, Rapmon shifted in his bed to turn to the other side and looked up to see Jungkook, wide-eyed and mouth open. Rapmon was surprised and whispered, "oh, Jungkookie, you're awake? I'm sorry, I must have woken you up. Go back to sleep, ok?"

Seeing his hyung's puffy red eyes and hearing him sniffling as he talked, Jungkook's heart broke even more. "Hyung, are you okay? I mean, obviously you're not okay. But can I do anything?"

"I'm sorry Jungkook-ah, you're not supposed to see me like this," Rapmon rubbed his eyes and sniffed once more. "Sorry for worrying you. As a leader, I should be stronger than this. Go, sleep, I'll be ok."

"Just because you're the leader doesn't mean you're not human, Namjoon hyung."

Jungkook's words made Rapmon pause. He realized that all these years, he had been carefully hiding his weaknesses from s and his fans, never showing vulnerability. But now here was Jungkook, who was usually carefree and energetic, who never had problems with the schedules and being away from home, worrying about him. He thought to himself that he felt very loved.

After a long silence, Jungkook mumbled, "do you want to talk about it, hyung?" Rapmon looked at him in the darkness and contemplated. "I mean," Jungkook sat up straight in his bed, cross-legged, "I'm not good at talking about this stuff, but I'm a very good listener." Seeing Jungkook's messy hair, Pokémon pajamas, and twiddling thumbs, Rapmon couldn't help but smile to himself despite having such a bad day.

"You know, Jungkook, I think one of my proudest achievements as a leader is seeing you grow up."

_______________

The door suddenly opened and Jungkook and Rapmon glanced over to see Jin and Suga come inside. Gleefully, Jungkook waved at them and opened the door of the soundproof booth to go meet them.

"Wha! JK! You're doing well!" Jin exclaimed in his uncle accent. Jungkook came over and asked, "what's up? Is this official company business? My contract's not up is it? I don't have a dating scandal?"

"Ah nothing, just checking up on you. And you're too old to have a dating scandal, just date already!!" Jin turned to Namjoon, who was fiddling with the computer and ignoring them. "How's the recording, Joonie?"

"As usual, our JK is so talented." Namjoon finally turned around. Suga asked, "which song are you recording?" "Reminiscent. You know that one, right, hyung?" Jungkook answered. Jin clasped his hands together and said, "Jungkookie, yah, when I read that song, I really almost cried. I thought, 'wow, our maknae grew up well.' You know?" Jungkook merely laughed, thinking about his hyungs who raised him all those years.

"Yah!" Namjoon suddenly stated,"I just remembered something. You know, next month, it's our 20th anniversary since our debut!"

"Oh, but didn't we already make plans?" Yoongi asked.

"Yeah, I thought we were just going on a trip to Hawaii," Jungkook checked his phone to be sure of the date. "I haven't booked tickets yet though," Jin interjected.

"Well, I was wondering if we could have a big event! Like a reunion performance of our old songs or a fan meeting!"

"What? Jin hyung's too old for that, he won't be able to dance," Jungkook said before earning a slap on the arm from Jin. "Yah, my body is still in shape! I'm only in my 40s! Just because you're still a muscle pig doesn't mean you can make fun of your hyungs! You really haven't changed!"

"Actually, it's not a bad idea," Yoongi said, rubbing his chin in thought. "I have a friend in KBS who could probably get us a time slot for a televised event. I'm sure Jin hyung here can handle the media. And the others will probably be up for it, since we already cleared out schedules for that day beforehand."

"We'd have to rehearse though, if we're performing." Namjoon said, his leader instincts stirring. "Some of the boys might be too busy for that. Especially Taehyung, who knows when he's gonna have a photoshoot or something."

"He just finished shooting his last drama and I haven't approved any new ones for him," Jin added, "Not sure about his modeling gigs though, let me just call him up to make sure."