Having Seokjin back had a certain pressure lifted off of Jungkook's chest-- a pressure called missing him, and Jungkook's break was so much better, knowing that Seokjin was once again within his reach. It was especially fun on New Year's-- the first day of the year, with Seokjin being dragged to Hoseok and Taehyung's party by Jimin and Jungkook. The place wasn't too crowded-- because it was quite small, and Hoseok and Taehyung had only invited a few people, including their old roommates. Seokjin flicked both Jimin and Jungkook's ears (though it didn't hurt Jimin) and told them they were lucky there weren't too many people there, because he hated parties. (But, knowing Seokjin and how much he loved Taehyung, he would probably have gone anyway, just to see him and Hoseok again.)

"Back to school soon." Seokjin decided to mention halfway through the night, to which Jungkook whined and fell back against the couch, practically molding into it. Seokjin chuckled, his hand coming down soft on Jungkook's stomach and tickling him gently. Jungkook automatically curled in on himself as he began to giggle, his body falling onto Seokjin's, shoulder against arm, cheek against shoulder. Seokjin let his hand travel around Jungkook's shoulders instead of tickling him.

"I'm going to assume you're not too excited?" Jimin asked the next day, when he got the same response to mentioning school again. Except for school was right there, was going to be there when Jungkook woke up, and, no, he was not excited. He voiced this with a groan in his voice and a quick shake of his head, even adding a pout to the mix. Jimin chuckled, fingers in Jungkook's hair, running through softly.

"Why's that? I thought you would be eager to start learning again-- maybe start dancing again, if Taehyung and I don't freak out when you do." Jimin said. Jungkook let out a huff of a laugh, rolling his eyes. Jimin and Taehyung-- Seokjin, too, now that he knew-- were watching over Jungkook very, very closely, making sure he ate enough and got enough rest. Hoseok was watching, too, but he wasn't crowding. He was watching from a distance; he always did.

"I don't know. I think I'm just too used to spending the whole day with you, and I don't really want to fall back into only seeing you for a few hours out of the day before I have to shower and go to sleep." Jungkook said. He tapped on his legs, on his knees, and sighed. "I wish I could take you to school with you. I wish I could shrink you and keep you in my shirt pocket. I need a mini you to carry around with me all day."

Jimin was silent for but a moment as he reached over to grab at the papers Jungkook had tied together, the little actions Jimin could take. He ripped one from the string it was tied to and pressed it into Jungkook's palm, giving him a moment to read it-- Say something cheesy (because I hate cheesy things, but they might be sweet coming from your mouth)-- before he tapped on Jungkook's heart and whispered, "I'm always right in here, Kookie."

"Hyung." Jungkook chuckled, shaking his head. He crumpled the paper and threw it, aimed for the little garbage can he knew he had hiding in the corner of his room, right next to his bed. He could only hope it landed there, "I'm not letting you use that one again."

"I'm sure you'll let me say cheesy things even without a paper. Because they'll sound sweet coming from my mouth, hmm?" Jimin asked, to which Jungkook only replied by rolling his eyes. Jimin chuckled, and he almost kissed Jungkook, but-- Jungkook had been right about what he said the day before, about him being a little too shy and nervous to initiate anything properly. So he kept to himself, and he spoke instead, "But I'll always be waiting here at home. Making sure you eat. We can start planning things to do together once you come home."

"That's okay, you don't have to plan anything. I'll just be happy to come home and see you." Jungkook said. He snuggled further into Jimin-- curled up against his side and closed his eyes. Jungkook wasn't sure what time it is, only that the sky was dark and Jungkook's alarm was going to go off really, really soon. Was it midnight? It might be. It probably was. Jungkook really didn't get enough sleep.

"And I'll be happy to see you again." Jimin said, kissing the top of Jungkook's head. His fingers played with the hair at the back of Jungkook's head, content as Jungkook began to relax more into him, as his breath turned even. Jungkook was pressed directly against his chest-- ear against heart, listening to the metal beat. Jimin kissed Jungkook's head lightly-- lightly, careful no to jostle him, careful not to hype him up again. Jungkook whispered something as he was falling asleep. Jimin was lucky he had better hearing than people, to have heard Jungkook's little whispered, "I love you, hyung," before he fell asleep.

(And maybe Jimin's heart was malfunctioning, because he didn't think it was supposed to fall out of beat, but he could feel it skip, much like Jungkook's had a couple times when the two of them had first met. It was a weird feeling, but Jimin didn't feel like he was dying-- not like he thought Jungkook might be when his heart skipped. No, he felt in love. He kind of felt like he could say "I love you, too," if he didn't want to wake the boy.)

Jungkook had no dreams that night, only the blank black of the back of his eyelids for hours that felt like seconds before he was awake once again. He woke up cold-- really cold, which was odd, because he was under a really warm blanket and pressed into a really warm.... No. Not warm. Jimin wasn't warm. He was usually pretty warm-- never went so cold as to make Jungkook freezing. Jungkook sat up quickly, alarm, felt as Jimin's cold, cold arm fell from his side and plopped into the sheets. It was dark; Jungkook couldn't see. He looked at his clock. 5:40? His alarm hadn't even gone off yet-- it wouldn't for another twenty minutes. Why was he awake? Why was Jimin so cold? What was going on?

"Hyung," Jungkook muttered, tapping on Jimin's chest. He waited a moment, but he had no response. Jungkook's heart skipped. He turned around and flicked on his lamp. Jimin had his eyes closed, blank expression, and Jungkook's heart skipped again because Jimin didn't sleep. Jungkook tapped on Jimin's chest again, moved his hand to Jimin's shoulder and shook it, "Hyung? Hyung? Metal Heart-- wake up. J-Jimin?"

Jungkook stopped tapping on Jimin's chest for a moment to realize his heart wasn't beating. Jungkook was struck with shock for a moment before he was scrambling, hand under pillow to find his phone. He was shaking as he dialed in the number-- hoping it was right, even, because he was dialing through tears and panicked sobs falling from his mouth. Despite the fact that it was so early in the morning, Seokjin picked up the phone quick, immediately sent into a panic of his own when he heard Jungkook crying.

"Jungkook? What's wrong? It's so early-- what happened?" Seokjin asked. Jungkook could barely explain it, with how hard he was crying, "Hyung, it's-- it's Jimin. I don't-- I don't know what's wrong, but his heart-- his heart stopped and-- and he's-- I don't know. He's really cold and he-- he's-- I think he died, hyung, what-- what happened? What's going on-- why is he like this?"

"I...." Seokjin was silent for a moment, and it was the kind of silence that told Jungkook he was trying to figure something out. It was the kind of silence that Jungkook hated, because his heart was beating too loud in his ears and for a moment, he lost faith in Seokjin, thinking maybe he wouldn't figure it out this time, thinking maybe his brain was at the end of its limits and he didn't have an answer of comfort to give.

"I don't know. I don't know, but I can figure it out-- I'll be over in a minute, okay? Just-- just a minute." Seokjin said, and Jungkook agreed with a shaky voice, hanging up the phone. He let it drop back into the sheets without a care, and he moved over to Jimin. What could have happened to him, he wondered. What could have gone wrong? Why was he so cold? Was he not fit for this kind of weather? Has his heart frozen? Was it something else?

More sobs tore through Jungkook's throat, and he thought this was unfair. He'd never wanted love in the first place. He told Seokjin directly that he never wanted love. But then came Jimin, and there came a gift from Seokjin, and Jungkook found himself falling stupidly in love with something that wasn't even really alive-- something that was dead now, it seemed. Jungkook placed his hand over his heart, fingers gripping the fabric over his chest. He hated this; he hated feeling like he'd never get Jimin back. What if Seokjin couldn't figure out what was wrong with him? What if he couldn't fix it? What then? What then?

Seokjin didn't knock. He ran into Jungkook's house, raced back into Jungkook's room and flicked on the light even though the lamp was already on. He took to comforting Jungkook first-- a quick touch of comfort, a hand across his back and a whispered, "It's alright, don't cry," in his ear. He moved over to Jimin and examined, hand against heart, fingers against neck, frown on his face. Jungkook watched Seokjin strip Jimin of his shirt. Jimin didn't look pale or anything; Jungkook assumed his skin tone would never change. But he looked so dead, just laying there, without responding or anything.

"Something's wrong with his heart. It's definitely coming from his heart-- I can tell." Seokjin said. He frowned, tapped against Jimin's shoulder in thought. He bit his bottom lip for a moment, and sighed when he didn't come up with any answers. "I think.... I'm not sure. I don't know what could have happened-- but it's definitely his heart. That's why he shut down completely.... I'll fix him, okay? I'll take him with me for a few days. I promise-- it'll be alright, I'll get him back to you really soon."

"Do you need help, hyung? Getting him in the car or--" Jungkook almost screamed when his alarm went off, suddenly screaming at him to wake up! wake up! even though he was already awake. Jungkook reached over to turn it off, holding his heart, now, because it was beating, and it kind of hurt, how hard he'd jumped. Seokjin shook his head when Jungkook's attention was back on him, "No. No, it's okay, you get ready for school. I'll take care of Jimin. Do you want me to call Taehyung for you, when I'm home? To keep you some company?"

"No, I'll-- I'm okay." Jungkook said, wiping his eyes. He reached out quick, and he fell into Seokjin's arms quick, hugging him tight-- tight enough to hurt both of them with the force. "Thank you, hyung. For making him, for fixing him. Thank you, thank you."

"Don't mention it." Seokjin whispered. He pulled away from Jungkook and put on Jimin's shirt. He picked up the dead robot and made to carry him away, but he stopped at the end of Jungkook's bed-- "And make sure you take care of yourself, okay? I'll be over sometimes to make sure you're eating. I might drop off something homemade for you--"

"I can cook, too, hyung, it's alright." Jungkook said, a little smile coming to his face with the worry Seokjin could express even when he had something dead in his arms. Seokjin smiled, too, "Okay-- but I want picture proof of your meals! And you better eat every bite!"

"Okay, hyung. Thank you." Jungkook said, wiping his tears. Seokjin told him not to mention it again as he was leaving. Jungkook stared at the entrance of his door for a long time, maybe a good ten minutes before he dragged himself up. He hadn't taken a shower the night before; Jimin was still hung on the whole two showers a day is bad for skin-- so only take one! morning or night. Jungkook cried the whole time he was washing up.

Jungkook didn't actually eat breakfast, despite telling Seokjin he would take care of himself. He didn't know what to make and he really just wanted to start crying again as soon as he walked into the kitchen. It felt so empty without Jimin. Seokjin promised he would take care of Jimin, and that he would be back soon, but it still felt so empty. Jungkook was scared. He didn't want to be without Jimin; he was so used to him. He was so-- he loved Jimin, and he never thought he'd love anybody.

Jungkook dragged himself out of his house quietly. He was fully prepared to force himself not to cry for the rest of the day, but he was met on his porch by Taehyung, standing there with two pieces of toast in hand and a smile on his face, and Jungkook broke down in tears. Taehyung wrapped his arms around Jungkook, tugged him in and hugged him tight, "Jin-hyung called me. He told me what happened, and he knew you wouldn't eat breakfast."

"How do you know I didn't eat breakfast?" Jungkook asked, sniffled. Taehyung pulled back, pushed a piece of the toast into Jungkook hands, "Because I know you, and I know you don't eat when you're upset, and this is probably... the most upset you've ever been. Hmm?"

"Well. Yes." Jungkook muttered, looking down at the toast. He took a rather big and sloppy bite, just to get the eating over with, because he really didn't want to eat, but he really should eat. Taehyung held onto Jungkook's other piece of toast as he took the younger's hand, as he walked him to school, and he made Jungkook eat the toast on the way there. Taehyung and Jungkook met Hoseok at the gate; and Hoseok gave Jungkook a hug right after he'd wiped the boy's tears.

"Hey. Are you okay to be here today?" Hoseok asked, frowned. Jungkook shrugged. Hoseok ran his fingers through Jungkook's hair, lifting his head up in the process. "I'll walk you back home if you're not okay to study today--"

"Hey, hey, school's really important." Taehyung said, tapping on Hoseok's shoulder. He took Jungkook's hand and tugged him along softly, glancing back to make sure Hoseok was following, "Jin-hyung was right when he said you really should still go to school.... But, I'm with Hobi, if you don't want to go--"

"I'm okay." Jungkook said, rubbing his eye when he felt it tear up again. He gave a brave smile and looked at Taehyung and Hoseok, "I'll-- I'll be alright. Maybe a little miserable, but... alright."

"If you're sure--"

"I am." Jungkook said. He gave each of them a hug and a really quick "Thank you, hyung" before he set off. The day would be rough, he already knew, because he was already upset about going back to learning, but it was just worse now that he didn't have Jimin to return home to at the end of a rather difficult day of study. It was worse now that he was plagued with worry, wondering if he would really get Jimin back, if Jimin would really be okay.