Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jungkook was bouncing on his heels. His bunny-like smile was at its peak and he kept bursting into fits of uncontrollable giggles. He was more than excited. He was ecstatic. His biggest dreams were about to come true. This was something he never thought could happen. He lived his entire life convinced it would never be more than a dream. He’d tried shifting on a number of occasions, desperately trying to live the impossible, but none of the methods ever seemed to work for him. So when he was given the opportunity to live his dreams without scrolling through dozens of shifting methods on Tik Tok, he jumped on it with glee.

    Yoongi however, was indifferent. He was only here for Jungkook. His legs were tired and aching. His eyes drooped occasionally due to how early Jungkook had woken him up for this. His excitement never stood a chance at coming close to Jungkook’s and overall, he wasn’t happy to be here. But he loved Jungkook and would do anything to see his best friend smile. If waking up at six thirty and standing up for hours in a seemingly endless line, listening to music he never cared to listen to meant he could see Jungkook’s bright smile, he would do it again. Over and over until the smile got old. But he was sure it never would.

    “God, I almost feel bad for them,” Yoongi said. Then his jaw unhinged and he let out a wild, uncontrollable yawn. It was one of those yawns so intense that tears stung in his eyes. He was quick to blink them away. Crying because he yawned was pathetic and embarrassing, even if he’d seen Jungkook do worse. They’d practically known each other since birth, witnessing Jungkook’s every embarrassing, pathetic, wimp-like moment was inevitable. Though that also meant Jungkook had witnessed his awkward teen years as well. They had a mutual agreement to not mention it though. The agreement was formed the day Yoongi immediately resorted to violence when Jungkook mentioned his braces.

    Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows. “Why? Did something happen? Are they okay?” Jungkook asked, eyes growing wide at the idea of his favorite idols facing any sort of hardship. Jungkook had been obsessed with BTS, the group whose meet and greet they were at, even before debut. He listened to all their songs, watched all their interviews and memorized all their birthdays. He owned every album, held a considerable amount of photocards in his collection and every time Yoongi visited his house, one of their songs was playing. 

    Yoongi sighed. “No, not that I’m aware. I’m just saying that it’s probably extremely tiring to stand here all day meeting hundreds of people they don’t really care about.” Jungkook visibly winced, a frown forming on his face. He looked like he was about to argue but Yoongi continued. “I mean, they’re just people. They aren’t something to gawk at, but they have to stand around all day greeting people who know everything about them all of the time.”

    “Damn,” Jungkook whispered. “I guess you’re right.” He seemed deep in thought suddenly and Yoongi felt bad for bringing down the mood. He knew how big of a deal this was for Jungkook. It really wasn’t right for him to make Jungkook feel guilty about living his dream.

    Yoongi sighed. “I’m sorry,” He said. “I didn’t mean to bring the mood down. And with how they talk during those lives, I was probably wrong when I said they don’t care about their fans. They seem to really care about the well-being of their fans and they’re probably really appreciative of everything they have because of you. They wouldn’t be where they are now if they didn’t have their fans so I can see why they would genuinely care about you. Don’t take what I said to heart.”

    Jungkook beamed, his earlier excitement returning. “You’re right! They really do care about us. They may not know us personally, but they still love us just as much as we love them. And they try their best to connect to each of their fans. I think they do a great job considering how large their fanbase is.”

    Yoongi smiled slightly, glad he hadn’t completely ruined the mood. He didn’t really care about BTS. He could respect that they had good music, but he just wasn’t into them. He loved their music, don’t get him wrong. But he would never consider himself a member of the fandom because his love for the band ended at their music. He had no interest in learning all about the members and memorizing their favorite foods. He could recognize each of them, but that was only because of his friendship with Jungkook. Growing up with him, he’d been forced to memorize each of their names and faces. He even had a vague idea of who they were as people, or the people they showed to their fans. He didn’t know for sure if those two things were the same, but Jungkook seemed pretty convinced so Yoongi took his word for it.

    Yoongi nodded in agreement. “They do really well at making all of their fans feel loved and cared for.”

    “Wait, oh my god, shut up!” Jungkook shrieked suddenly. “The line is moving!” He was right. The line was slowly moving forward and with every passing second, it seemed to move even more. It moved so much faster than Yoongi thought it would. They must be having very brief interactions to avoid taking up too much time. Yoongi was grateful for that. He wasn’t sure he could survive another minute here if he knew he’d be there for a whole lot longer. When he caught sight of the first member, he almost cheered out of pure joy. But Jungkook’s bright grin next to him shut him up.

    He first caught sight of Kim Namjoon, more commonly known as RM. Yoongi had to admit. The man was attractive. He was currently smiling, showing off the cute dimples Jungkook often talked about which really helped. He wasn’t exactly Yoongi’s type, but Yoongi could never lie and say the man was anything below a solid ten out of ten. 

    “Damn,” Yoongi whispered, eyes catching on his dark brown eyes. 

    Jungkook grinned. “He’s hot, right?” He asked, not waiting for an answer. “Just wait till you see Taehyung. Or Jin. Jin is literally worldwide handsome, you’ll have a fucking heart attack when you see him.” The concept of Jin being worldwide handsome wasn’t new to Yoongi. Jungkook often referenced that little detail and Yoongi had seen enough pictures of the man to see some truth to it. The man was certainly handsome. 

    Soon enough, Jin came into view. It didn’t take long. He was right next to Namjoon. The ship name, Namjin, which Jungkook had often used, made an appearance in Yoongi’s mind. The two stood very close and in between each fan they had to greet, one of them would turn to the other and say something that made the other laugh or smile. Yoongi had an impeccable gaydar and right now, it was going off. This wasn’t exactly something new to him though. Jungkook often told Yoongi about different ships within the fandom. According to Jungkook, out of all the ships, Namjin was apparently superior.

    The next person Yoongi caught sight of was Kim Taehyung. Yoongi had listened to Jungkook go on long rants about Taehyung’s absolute, god-like, beauty (something that was funny because Jungkook, like Yoongi, was an atheist), and the man certainly lived up to the description. His black hair fell in his eyes and when he raised a hand to brush the strands out of his eyes, Yoongi caught sight of his dark eyes. He had to admit, they were mesmerizing. Even more enthralling, each time he greeted a fan, he let his boxy smile show and Yoongi could see the genuinity in his gorgeous eyes. Jungkook was right. Taehyung was damn gorgeous, and the group obviously cared about their fans.

    Park Jimin was standing close to Taehyung, their shoulders were close to touching but they had to split apart each time they hugged a fan. He could tell they were close. Every time Jimin smiled, his eyes crinkled and disappeared into his cheeks. His pink hair just added to the look. It made him appear soft and cute. Yoongi was tempted to say he looked innocent or pure when he smiled like that, but he’d seen clips of Jimin on stage and he’d seen images where Jimin looked the farthest away from cute and innocent. 

    But if he was being honest, as hot and beautiful as they all were, none of them really fit his type until his eyes landed on Jung Hoseok. He was by far the most attractive man Yoongi had ever seen in his life. His dark black hair was parted down the middle, just barely staying out of his gorgeous, dark eyes. His mouth formed a heart shape when he smiled, his eyes crinkling slightly. His facial features were soft and the energy he showcased looked infectious. He greeted each fan with a warm hug, whispering in their ear and smiling brightly as they moved on their way. 

    “Holy shit,” Yoongi whispered. “They’re fucking hot.”

    Jungkook chuckled. “I know.” Of course he knew. He’d been obsessing over them since debut. He probably knew the extent of their god-like features better than Yoongi. He probably knew what they looked best in and which traits were most desirable. And surely, he already knew how fucking pretty Jung Hoseok was. “Who is your favorite? Now that you’ve seen them in person, maybe you’ll finally give me an answer.”

    Yoongi rolled his eyes. He always ignored that question. He refused to pick favorites before even knowing a thing about them. He decided that he’d consider choosing a bias after he met them. He hated the idea of telling Jungkook that his favorite member was Hoseok because he was the most ravishing man he’d ever seen. 

    “I don’t have a favorite,” He claimed. 

    Jungkook groaned. “Oh come on, at least tell me who is most attractive to you. My bets are on Jimin, but I could also see you leaning towards Namjoon. Taehyung would be the obvious choice but you never really go for the person everyone would choose. So who is it?”

    Yoongi sighed. “Hoseok,” He admitted. He supposed there was nothing wrong with believing that Jung Hoseok was drop-dead gorgeous. It was only the truth. The man looked absolutely heavenly, the most prepossessing man he’d ever seen. He wanted to see how many different ways he could claim Hoseok’s beauty. Beguiling. Stunning. Pulchritudinous. None of them really seemed to capture the essence of Jung Hoseok.

    Jungkook raised his eyebrows. “Hobi? I wouldn’t have guessed that. Now that I really think about it, opposites attract, right? Ooh! Are you attracted to his bubbly personality? He could really be some type of battery for you. Because you’re introverted and tired all the time, while he’s extraverted and literally the life of BTS. He has so much energy and life all of the time. You’d balance each other out quite nicely.”

    Yoongi rolled his eyes. “He’s not my favorite. I know nothing about him. I just think he embodies the essence of beauty. That has nothing to do with what I think about him as a person.”

    Jungkook stared at Yoongi. “Did you just say he embodies the essence of beauty?” Yoongi  bit his lip, choosing not to answer. But the answer was yes. Jung Hoseok was even more attractive in person than on Jungkook’s phone screen. “Oh my god, it’s love at first sight,” Jungkook gushed. “You’re about to meet the love of your fucking life.”

    Yoongi rolled his eyes at Jungkook’s antics. “I don’t believe in love at first sight. It’s one thing to believe someone is absolutely fucking breathtaking. It’s another thing to be in love,” Yoongi tried to explain. Yoongi didn’t fall in love based on looks. Sure, it was a cool bonus if the person he liked or was in love with was attractive. But he didn’t really care. He cared about the bond they formed and the type of person they were. 

    “Explain to me the difference then,” Jungkook demanded. “What stands between you and Hobi falling in love? How are you not in love with the embodiment of beauty?” Jungkook was partly teasing but Yoongi also knew that Jungkook often formed crushes off of looks so it was a genuine question. The boy had never been in love but whenever he liked someone, it started with their looks catching his interest. Then he got to know them. If he didn’t like their personality, the crush miraculously disappeared, if he liked their personality, Yoongi only heard their name for the rest of the year. 

    So Yoongi sighed as he tried to explain. “Finding someone attractive is simply that. You just think, damn they’re attractive, and maybe drool over them for a bit. Love is when you start relating to Bruno Mars and start playing Elvis Presley on repeat regardless of your age.” Yoongi was only half joking. 

    Jungkook rolled his eyes. “You’re literally the only person I know who listens to Elvis Presley. Your point is invalid and therefore pointless to this argument. Thus, I win. You’re in love. By the power invested in me, I pronounce you whipped. You may now create a Pinterest board dedicated to him and faint when he asks if you want anything signed. You never make it to the hug and for that, you forever regret all life decisions leading up to this moment.”

    Yoongi pushed Jungkook’s shoulder playfully. “You can’t just declare me in love,” Yoongi argued. “Love should be natural and built over long periods of time. It’s not instantaneous and should not be built off of how appealing to look at a person is.”

    Jungkook snorted. “Yeah, and that’s why we live in a world where everybody has a soulmate.” The point was, in Yoongi’s opinion, mundane and irrelevant. He was right that everyone in this world had a soulmate, but it was incredibly rare to find said soulmate and even rarer to live after doing so. Soulmates were romanticized in literature and on television, but in the real world, people often dreaded meeting their soulmate. Yoongi knew people who avoided touching people at all costs to avoid meeting their soulmate. Soulmates were a curse, a punishment, something to be feared.

    Soulmates were discovered after first touch. The first time you touched your soulmate, bruises appeared on your skin at the exact contact point. The issue was, it appeared hours later. The next problem surfaced even before the painful bruises. Once you made skinship with your soulmate, your body no longer accepted any form or nourishment. As long as you have no preexisting conditions or wounds obtained from an accident or anything of the sorts, your soulmate was the only thing that could keep you alive. Your body physically rejects food and water does nothing to quench your thirst. You can go approximately one and a half weeks without your soulmate before you become comatose and just a day later, you die.

    The problem was that the bruises came too long after the first touch. Unless it was a distinct, unforgettable interaction between you and your soulmate, you were destined to never find them and die a slow and painful death, starving, dehydrated, and lonely. Soulmates were anything but romantic. 

    Yoongi supposed he could understand why Jungkook continuously insisted they were romantic though. Jungkook’s parents were soulmates, he obviously didn’t understand the seriousness of discovering a soulmate because his parents had never experienced it. It was rare to meet someone whose parents were soulmates, but if their parents were soulmates, they were most likely hanging out for a few hours, long enough for the bruises to appear. Otherwise, it’s usually a lost cause. 

    “Whatever,” Yoongi said, brushing Jungkook off. “The point is that you may believe in love at first sight, but I don’t. Jhope is a beautiful fucking man, and that is that. I’ve never spoken a word to him so falling in love would be unrealistic.”

    Jungkook just rolled his eyes. “Well, he has a great personality too and you’re totally polar opposites so I’m sure that if you held a real conversation, you’d fall in love. You’d be the perfect example of opposites attracting. He’s the literal embodiment of the sun, and you are sort of emo, always acting depressed.”

    Yoongi chuckled. “We’ll see about that. Oh, the line is moving forward.”

    Jungkook gasped as he realized that there were five people ahead of them. His previous excitement and giddy grin was replaced by an overwhelming fear. His eyes were wide, lips parted as he swallowed thickly. His arms shook and he looked damn fucking terrifed out of his mind.

    “Yoongi,” he said, tugging on his best friend’s sleeve. “Yoongi,” He said again, licking his suddenly dry lips. “They are literally a few feet away from us. Oh my god they are a few feet away from us. Fuck- what do I do?”

    Yoongi sighed and laced their fingers together, squeezing gently. “You’re going to walk up to them, hand them your CD and greet each of them. You’ll say something quick, tell them how much you love their music, joke about how you dragged me here, and then hug or high five each of them. You’ll squeal and smile, and then we’ll watch them perform. You won’t fucking die. ”

    “Oh my god, what if I fucking die?”

    Yoongi nearly lost it then. “Look, it’s your turn!” Jungkook’s eyes widened and he froze. Yoongi giggled quietly as he shoved Jungkook forward, wanting to get out of the room. There were too many people and he was starting to feel hot. “You’ll be fine, Kookie. Just don’t embarrass yourself.”

    “Yoongi I swear to fucking god,” Jungkook said, but it was weak and held no venom. He swallowed around the lump in his throat before walking forward and smiling awkwardly at Namjoon. “Hi,” He squeaked. Yoongi facepalmed.

    Namjoon flashed his pearly white teeth at Jungkook and Yoongi watched as his dimples appeared. “Hello, what is your name?” He asked as he accepted the album from Jungkook’s shaking hands. He brought a pen to the album, hovering just over the case as he waited for a name.

    “Jungkook,” He said, inhaling deeply. “I uh, I just wanted to say I love you guys so much. I’ve been obsessed with your music since debut and I’m just so happy to meet you all. God, is my hand shaking?”

    Namjoon laughed. “Yes, it is. It’s wonderful to meet you as well, Jungkook. Thank you for coming.” He pulled Jungkook in for a brief hug and Jungkook’s cheeks turned pink. He seemed to not notice when Namjoon pulled away.

    Jungkook nodded quickly and walked over to Jin who seemed to find his nervousness just as amusing. Yoongi rolled his eyes as he stepped forward to Namjoon, placing another one of Jungkook’s albums on the counter.

    “You might as well just sign this one for him as well,” Yoongi told him. “I love your music, but, and don’t take this the wrong way, Kookie is a much bigger fan than me. He definitely wants this a lot more than me.”

    Namjoon chuckled. “That’s alright. It’s great to know that you like our music too, even if it’s not as much as your friend over there.”

    Yoongi nodded. “He’s going to be so embarrassed when we get home.”

    Namjoon laughed again. “He has no reason to be. We see this everyday.”

    When Namjoon raised an eyebrow and opened his arms as an invitation for Yoongi to hug him, Yoongi simply shrugged. Contrary to popular belief, Yoongi had nothing against physical touch. His only complaint came when other people were there to witness it. Right now however, he was fairly certain he would never see any of these people again, and Jungkook knew he liked physical touch so he wasn’t hiding anything from him. So he let himself melt into Namjoon’s warm embrace.

    Then Namjoon flashed a smile and handed the CD back. Yoongi took a glance at it and smiled slightly. It was a simple message, but the smiley face at the end is what made Yoongi smile, because he could imagine Jungkook’s smile when he saw it. The boy would be ecstatic.

    “Thanks,” Yoongi said, then he chuckled when he saw Jungkook awkwardly hugging Taehyung with a shit eating grin on his face. Yoongi knew that Jungkook would never stop talking about this day.

    He approached Jin with a calm demeanor, smiling a bit when Jin raised an eyebrow.

    “You’re very calm to be meeting the worldwide handsome, ” Jin said cockily. 

    Yoongi just smiled. “Let me tell you a secret,” Yoongi said. He leaned forward and cupped his hands around his mouth. Jin took the hint and leaned down (quite a bit due to Yoongi’s small stature), placing his ear near Yoongi’s cupped hands. “He dragged me here.”

    Jin gasped dramatically. “You don’t listen to our music?” He asked.

    Yoongi shook his head. “I do, it’s wonderful. I love it. I just wouldn’t come here of my own accord. No offense of course.”

    Jin chuckled. “None taken. But perhaps now that you’ve met us, you’ll change your mind?”

    Yoongi shrugged. “We’ll see.”

    Jin grinned. “You’re lying. You’ve made up your mind. You’re absolutely, truly, madly, deeply in love with us. I can see it in your eyes.”

    Yoongi rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. Would you mind signing this for Jungkookie now?”

    Jin sighed and did as Yoongi asked. “I know you’ll regret it later if you don’t, so will you at least accept this hug? If you say no and you find yourself in love with me in a month, it’s one hundred percent your fault.”

    Yoongi huffed but accepted the hug nonetheless. It was nice and comforting, he had to admit.

    His interaction with Taehyung and Jimin wasn’t any more unique. He had brief conversations with them, hugged and watched as Jungkook flushed red with every interaction. It was highly amusing.

    The only difference was when he met Hoseok. Hoseok had immediately welcomed Yoongi into a hug before even saying anything. Then he grabbed Yoongi’s right hand with his left hand and laced their fingers together as he grabbed a pen with his right hand and looked at Yoongi expectantly.

    “Okay,” He said. “So I’m writing this out for Jungkook, but who are you?”

    “Why are you asking?” Yoongi said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

    Hoseok scoffed. “Is there something wrong with that? I already know his name. I want to know yours too. Is that a sin?”

    Yoongi shrugged. “Maybe I just don’t want to share it,” He suggested. Then he grabbed the CD and walked away, leaving the man gaping. He walked up to Jungkook where he was waiting and handed him the CD. “Here, they all signed this for you so now you have two signed CDs.”

    Jungkook beamed. “Thank you!” He threw his arms around Yoongi and squeezed the fucking life out of him. “I fucking love you!”

    “Yeah, yeah, I know you do.”

“I’m going to take a nap,” Yoongi said as soon as they stepped inside. “I’m tired. You can tell me about how hot they were or how amazing their music was when I wake up. Also, I expect you to have made something to eat by then.”

    Jungkook scoffed. “Alright, I’ll start making mac and cheese in an hour. Usually you wake up after an hour and a half.”

    Yoongi smiled. “Thanks Jungkookie. As soon as I wake up, you can talk my ears off. I’m just tired right now.”

    “That’s alright, I was sort of expecting this,” Jungkook admitted with a shrug. 

    Just as Jungkook assumed he would, Yoongi woke up around half an hour later. He groaned as he blinked awake. The first thing he registered was the smell of mac and cheese. He was nearly salivating already. He really hadn’t eaten much this morning so he was starving.

    He grabbed a bottle of water off of his desk as he left his room, eager to wash the drool out of his mouth. He removed the cap and brought the bottle to his lips, tilting his head back and letting the liquid wash down his throat. He immediately regretted it when he suddenly started choking and all of the water he had attempted to drink left his mouth and fell on the floor.

    Even after the water had been dispeled, soft, quiet coughs followed as if his body was trying to get rid of every bit of water he’d just used to hydrate himself. 

    He sighed once he was sure his coughing fit was over. He’d gotten water all over his shirt. He would definitely have to change shirts. 

    Jungkook peeked his head out of the kitchen when he heard Yoongi approaching. “Are you alright? You sounded like you were dying,” He said casually. But Yoongi just pursed his lips. He sorta felt like he was dying.

    “I don’t know,” He admitted. “I’m fine. I guess I just swallowed the water wrong.”

    Jungkook rolled his eyes. “You’ve been drinking water for what, nineteen years? And you still can’t do it right.”

    “Shut up,” Yoongi said playfully, swatting at Jungkook’s arm. “I’m hungry. Let’s just sit down and eat."

    Jungkook chuckled. "Alright, alright, I finished like five minutes ago so you're in luck."

    "Thank fucking god," Yoongi muttered, sitting down and grabbing a fork, licking his lips. "I'm fucking starving."

    Jungkook just rolled his eyes.

    Yoongi stabbed his fork into the bowl and scooped macaroni into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it contentedly. But then his stomach began turning. He gagged violently, bringing his hand up to cup his mouth quickly. Jungkook watched in concern as he gagged into his hand again. 

    The boy frowned but Yoongi didn't pay attention to it. Instead he tried desperately to swallow down the incoming vomit traveling up his throat. But it wasn't even vomit. His stomach lurched again and the mouthful of macaroni he ate climbed up his throat and back into his bowl. Luckily he moved his hand away quickly.

    "Yoongi-" Jungkook whispered. 

    Yoongi didn't recognize the worry and fear in Jungkook's voice. He didn't notice the concern.

    "Jungkook, get me water or something," Yoongi said, scrunching his nose. "What the fuck, I didn't even digest it."

    Jungkook bit his lip before grabbing his cup of water and handing it to Yoongi. Yoongi accepted it gratefully, gulping it in large sips. He nearly sighed in relief. He hated the taste of vomit in his mouth. But then he spluttered and choked on the water.

    "Yoongi," Jungkook said, more urgently this time. "What's that on your hands?"

    "What?" Yoongi asked, coughing a bit as more drops of water trickled out of his mouth. He was breathing heavily now. He lifted his hands to his eyes and felt all of the blood drain from his face. "What- what is that? Jungkook what is that!"

    Jungkook swallowed harshly. "My- my mom showed me pictures. They looked just like regular bruises. But they had distinct finger-like shapes. You could make out each finger, the points where they bent."

    "Jungkook shut up," Yoongi begged. "Shut up about your parents and tell me what the fuck these are."

    "Your body is rejecting food and water. You're rejecting nourishment."

    "Stop!" Yoongi said, panic evident in his voice. "It's not- it's so rare- it can't be." He whimpered.

    Purple and blue tendrils peeked out from in between each of his right fingers. His palm was a dark, bruising purple and when he poked at it, he winced. They looked like fingers. He took his left hand and laced his fingers together. He could still see the oddly shaped bruises, but the shape was clear. The bruises looked like someone had squeezed his hand too tight while lacing fingers.

    "Whose hand did you hold today?" Jungkook asked with shuddering breaths. "You remember, right? You can call them up? Sort this out?"

    Yoongi really wished he could tell Jungkook that he did know. That they were only a phone call away. That everything would be fine. But he didn't have much physical affection with others, due to his lack of friends. He'd only held one person's hand today, aside from Jungkook's.

    "Hoseok held my hand while he signed your CD," Yoongi admitted numbly.  “He- he held my hand. Jungkook, tell me this isn’t what I think it is. Tell me that it’s just a regular bruise.”

    “I can’t,” Jungkook whispered. “That’s- that’s a soulmate mark. You met your soulmate today.”

    “Fucking damnit!” Yoongi yelled. “I never wanted to meet my soulmate and this is why. I don’t know how to contact him. Do you know how many people probably lie about being his soulmate to be let in? They’d never believe me. I’m going to starve to fucking death.”

    “No,” Jungkook whispered. “No, if you’re experiencing this already, so is he. He’s an idol; they can’t let him die. They’ll be trying to track you down soon. They’ll find you.”

    Yoongi shook his head. “He probably held thousands of hands today. And I never said my name or anything. They can’t find me. There were too many people. One interaction won’t stick out to him.”

    “Then you have to make an effort to find him. They have to know he’s found his soulmate by now. If you come in sporting matching bruises, they can’t deny it. It hasn’t been announced to fans either. There is no way anybody but us know.”

    “How are we going to contact him then, huh?” Yoongi asked, hands shaking. “He’s in the most popular group in the world. They’ll have people trying to contact them constantly. And I doubt their managers have the time to meet with some random person unless they already know it’s important enough. Face it, I’m going to-”

   “ Shut up!” Jungkook yelled, effectively shutting Yoongi’s mouth. “Shut up. You aren’t going to die. You can’t die. I won’t let you.”

    Yoongi nodded shakily.

    “We have three weeks. We’ll find him by then. I promise we will.”

    “Okay,” Yoongi whispered. “What’s our first step then?”

    “We go straight to their company and if they don’t talk to us right away, we’ll make a big enough deal that they can’t ignore us.”

Hoseok was panting as they walked back off stage. They finally finished their last performance and he was beyond tired. He really just wanted to get home, eat, and sleep. Along with gulping down an abnormal amount of water. 

    “Jimin!” Taehyung called. “Pass me that water when you’re done. And don’t take too much. Save some for the rest of us.”

    Jimin rolled his eyes. “You could have brought your own.”

    “Why would we do that?” Jin asked, scoffing. “It’s much easier to leech off of you.”

    “Oh, that’s wonderful. What great friends I have. Are you only my friend to leech off of my kindness?”

    “Why else?” Taehyung asked, taking the bottle as soon as Jimin held it out to him. He passed it to Jin when he was done.

    Each person passed the water to each other, until finally, Namjoon was passing it to Hoseok. Hoseok smiled gratefully at Namjoon before tipping his head back and swallowing down the rest of the bottle quickly. The water felt wonderful against his dry throat and he sighed in relief. The bliss he felt after finally being hydrated didn’t last.

    Less than five seconds later, he was choking aggressively and water was spluttering from his mouth. Namjoon was next to him in seconds. He pounded his fists against Hoseok’s back and rubbed his shoulder. 

    “Water,” He rasped between coughs. “Water please.”

    “Aren’t you choking on water?” Jimin asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Can water really help you when it’s also the thing you need help because of?”

    Hoseok shot a glare at Jimin as Jin rushed to the mini fridge to grab another bottle of water. “I swallowed it wrong,” He told Jimin, choking again. “Water can fix that.”

    Jimin pursed his lips as Jin handed Hoseok the bottle of water. Hoseok didn’t hesitate to take another large sip of water. But it didn’t help. It made it worse. He doubled over in a choking fit. His throat started burning and he hated it. He had never choked like this before. 

    Taehyung had been standing there frozen as he watched the scene play out. His hands were shaking and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. It was when Hoseok tried to drink a sip of water again that Taehyung couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. 

    “Stop,” Taehyung said in a shaky voice. “It won’t do anything. You’ll just choke it up again. You’re making it worse for yourself.”

     Hoseok looked up at him, furrowing his eyebrows. “What are you talking about? What do you mean?” 

    “L-look at your hands,” Taehyung said. “Look at them!”

    Hoseok blinked, startled. Then he lifted his hands to his face. A gasp was heard throughout the room. Taehyung’s attitude had stunned them all into such a deafening silence that his gasp seemed to boom throughout the room.

    “N-no,” He whispered. “This isn’t- it can’t be.”

    No one said anything. They just watched as Hoseok stared at the purple tendrils climbing through the gaps in his fingers. He wanted to believe they weren’t what Taehyung was suggesting they were. He wanted to believe that this wasn’t what he knew they were. He wanted to believe that he hadn’t met his soulmate. 

    “It- It’ll be fine,” Jin said, face paling. “We’ll find them. We’ll find them before it’s too late. You don’t have to worry about anything. We’ll- we’ll-”

    Hoseok shook his head. “I held thousands of hands today. There is no way to separate any interactions I had today. There is no way I'll be able to find them. I’m going to die and my soulmate will die with me. Face it, the odds are against my favor.” He smiled sadly, tears appearing in his eyes. 

    Jimin shook his head rapidly. “No, no I won’t face it. I’m not letting you go,” He said, letting out a sob. “We’ll tell Sejin and he’ll help us find them. You can’t just give up like this.”

    Hoseok didn’t say anything, he just let a fresh round of tears roll down his face as Jimin fell to his knees and engulfed Hoseok into a hug. Hoseok sobbed as he wrapped his arms around Jimin and soon, Taehyung was gripping onto the back of Hoseok’s shirt like his life depended on it. Jin and Namjoon looked at each other and without a second thought they joined the hug.

    “I don’t know how I’ll survive until you find them,” Hoseok admitted. Jimin smiled slightly at the change in words. He didn’t like when Hoseok assumed his death was inevitable. He wanted to speak as if finding Hoseok’s soulmate was promised. “I’m already hungry. I’ve never really lasted over a day without food. I don’t know if I can hold up until then.”

    “Namjoon,” Jin said shakily. “Call Sejin. He’ll know what to do. We need to start looking for his soulmate now if we want better chances of helping him.”

    “How will he be able to find them?” Taehyung asked, swallowing thickly. “There were so many people at that fanmeet. How can he narrow it down to Hobi’s soulmate?”

    “We have a list of everyone who went,” Namjoon informed them. “If we look at the records we can at least cross off people who have already found their soulmate.”

    “Namjoon,” Hoseok said, licking his dry lips. “Do you know how many people actually find their soulmate? It’s so fucking rare to find them. It’s not going to narrow it down much.”

    Namjoon sighed. “No, but we won’t let you starve. We’ll put in the work. We’re not giving up, you hear that?”

    Hoseok nodded, sniffling. “Okay,” He whispered. “Okay,” He repeated. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and released a shuddering breath. “I think I’m going to take a nap.”

    Namjoon nodded. “That sounds good. Come talk to us if you need anything. I’ll probably talk to Sejin while you’re asleep. If we find anything, I’ll tell you, okay?”

    Hoseok nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

    Taehyung pulled him into a hug, squeezing him so tightly, Hoseok swore his ribs were breaking. Jimin, of course, followed Taehyung’s actions, enveloping the side Taehyung wasn’t hugging in his arms. 

    “Thanks guys,” Hoseok said. “I’m gonna go now.”

    Jin nodded, offering a small smile as Jimin and Taehyung let go of him, backing away slowly. He gave them a weak smile before turning around and walking towards his room. Nearly as soon as he opened the door, he collapsed into his bed.

Jungkook stood next to Yoongi, fingers laced together comfortingly. Yoongi usually didn’t like skinship, even from Jungkook, though he tolerated it a lot more than from other people, but right now, they both craved comfort and this was all they had. 

    “Is this the right place?” Yoongi asked anxiously. “What if it’s not the right place and we waste our time here? Fuck, I feel like we’re losing time.”

    Jungkook squeezed Yoongi’s hand in his. “Hey, hey, it’s fine. I’m one hundred percent sure this is the right place. And if it’s not, we have three weeks. We have plenty of time.”

    Yoongi nodded and allowed Jungkook to drag him into the building. The two walked up to the receptionist and she looked up with a bored expression, raising an eyebrow.

    “We need to speak to BTS’s manager,” Jungkook said confidently. He swallowed thickly when she rolled her eyes.

    “Is it an emergency?” She asked sarcastically, laughing when Jungkook nodded. “Listen kid, people come here every day trying to convince me that they need to speak with their manager. You’re just trying to get close to the band. You don’t have any business with them.”

    “You don’t understand,” Jungkook insisted, clenching his teeth. “This is a serious emergency.”

    “As I said before-”

   “Eunwoo?” A man said. Yoongi turned around so fast Jungkok almost stumbled for a second. “I’ll take care of them. Don’t worry.”

    She sighed but nodded. 

    Yoongi noticed that Jungkook was grinning but he couldn’t understand why. They were refusing to listen to them. This was bad.

    “Sejin,” Jungkook said. Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m so glad we found you. You probably won’t believe us, but we went to a fansign and when we got home, Yoongi had soulmate markings. We need-”

    “I’m going to stop you right there, kid,” Sejin said, smiling tightly. “None of the boys have found their soulmates. People try convincing me their soulmate is a member of BTS every day.”

    Jungkook inhaled deeply. “You don’t understand,” Jungkook hissed. “Yoongi actually has soulmate marks. Look at them!”

    “Jungkook-” Yoongi said softly, but Jungkook shook his head. Yoongi was losing the little hope he had, but Jungkook refused to give up.

    Sejin sighed and stepped forward. He gestured for Yoongi to show his marks and Yoongi lifted his hand from Jungkook’s hold to show him the bruises. Sejin frowned as he inspected them. 

    “These aren’t fake. They’re real soulmate marks,” He noted, a sad look taking over his face. Jungkook’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect Sejin to believe them so quickly. “But none of the boys have found their soulmates. I’m sorry. I wish you luck in finding your soulmate. I hope things go well for you. But you won’t find your soulmate in BTS.”

    Yoongi swallowed thickly and Jungkook nearly growled. “You have to believe us. He held Hoseok’s hand. That's the only person whose hand he held last night. Hoseok is Yoongi’s soulmate.”

    “Kid, I already told you-” he stopped when he heard screaming from the hallways.

    “Manager Sejin!” Someone yelled, running into the lobby. “Sejin! It’s an emergency. We need you to come, quick.”

    Sejin looked at Yoongi regretfully. “I’m sorry, I have to take care of an emergency that actually concerns us. I wish you good luck. Now please leave or I will call security.” And then he left, following the man to his car and leaving Jungkook and Yoongi standing there pathetically. 

    “Kookie,” Yoongi whispered. “I’m going to die.”

“What’s the emergency?” Sejin asked. “Hyunwoo refused to tell me while we were in the car. He said you should tell me yourself. Is everyone okay?” He was currently sitting on the couch across from every member of BTS. He was a little frustrated and impatient that they couldn’t just get it over with and tell him what was wrong.

    Namjoon took a deep breath. “Hoseok found his soulmate last night.” And Sejin felt his breath leave him. His face paled and his eyes widened in horror. “They touched at a fansign and we don’t know how to find them. We were really hoping you’d have some sort of method of tracking them down.”

    “Show me your hands,” Sejin demanded, chewing on his lip as he prayed he was wrong. Hoseok swallowed thickly and lifted his hand to show Sejin the marks. “Fuck!” 

    Then Hoseok furrowed his eyebrows. “How did you know where the bruises were?” He asked, confused. “None of us told you where they were.”

    Sejin breathed in deeply, lifting his hands to his head and tugging harshly on the strands of hair. “I fucked up. Fucking hell, I fucked up.”

    “What happened?” Namjoon asked, growing increasingly worried.

    “I was returning from a meeting yesterday when I saw two boys talking to the receptionist. They were trying to contact me so I figured I would save her the trouble and talk to them so we could send them on their way faster. They tried claiming that one of them had found their soulmate last night at the fansign.” Hoseok inhaled sharply. “I didn’t know you had found yours,” Sejin insisted. “I would have taken them seriously. But I didn’t believe them. The marks were real, but I thought they were lying about them being from you. I sent them away.”

    “Can’t you find him?” Taehyung asked, swallowing thickly. “You could check the security footage and track him down.”

    “All it would do is show you his face. Security footage won’t tell us where he lives.”

    “Wouldn’t he come back?” Namjoon asked. “If they’re not stupid they’ll keep coming back until we take them serioulsy. If they’re smart they’ll know that our employees just didn’t know he found his soulmate.”

    “But what if they don’t come back?” Taehyung asked, chewing anxiously on his lips. “What if they give up?”

    “They can’t,” Jin said. “They’ll both die if they give up.  They can’t. Besides, they literally met him at a fansign which means they’re ARMY. ARMY wouldn’t let any of us die. If any one of you think for a second that we won’t find Hobi’s soulmate, you’re dead fucking wrong.”

    Taehyung nodded, unsure. “Yeah, alright.”

    “Did they say their names?” Hoseok asked. He had been silent throughout the entire conversation and now that Sejin looked at him, he saw how panicked and terrified he looked. That was understandable, of course. Not many people survived after finding their soulmates.

    Sejin nodded. “Uh, there was a boy, I don’t know what his name was, but he wasn’t your soulmate. He was yelling at me for his friend. Uh, what was it? Yoongi, I think.”

    “Can you check who came to the fansign? See if his name is on there and then look into where we can contact him,” Namjoon suggested.

    Sejin nodded. “I’ll start searching. Hang in there, Hobi. I’ll find him.”

“Come on, Yoongi,” Jungkook said, nudging Yoongi’s arm. “Wake up, we have to go to Bighit. Yoongi, I’m not kidding. We have to get their attention.”

    Yoongi groaned. "What's the point?" He asked. "They're not going to take us seriously. They didn't believe us yesterday, they won't believe us today. Face it, I'm dying and I'm bringing Hoseok down with me."

    Jungkook shook his head rapidly. "Please,Yoongi, we have to try. I'm not giving up that easily. I'm not losing you. Don't make me lose you." Jungkook was pleading now, but Yoongi wasn’t sure he had the mental strength to do what Jungkook was asking. He’d already done it once and been disappointed. He couldn’t stand going there and not being believed again. He couldn’t do it.

    So he shook his head. “I can’t Jungkook. They won’t believe us. I can’t do this again.”

    Jungkook swallowed thickly. “Well I can. I’m not losing my best friend. Whether or not you are there, I’m going to get them to listen to us. I’m going to save you. You aren’t going to die on me. I fucking refuse.”

    Yoongi sighed. “I’m sorry. I just really don’t think we’re going to pull this off.”

    “We will, I promise that we will.”

“I need to speak to BTS’ manager,” Jungkook said firmly to the receptionist. This one was a different one from the one he’d spoken to the other day. “Or BTS if it’s more convenient for you.” He shrugged and sighed inwardly when the man rolled his eyes.

    “You’re not going to be able to speak to any of them,” he told Jungkook. “They’re all busy and it’s pretty inconvenient to arrange a meeting between you and the biggest band in the world.”

    Jungkook pursed his lips. “I don’t think you understand. I know who Jung Hoseok’s soulmate is.”

    He narrowed his eyes on Jungkook. “Show me your hands,” He demanded.

    Jungkook bit his lip harshly. “I’m not his soulmate. My best friend is. But he’s at home now.”

    His gaze turned into a hash glare. “That’s pretty fucking convenient for you, isn’t it? Well, unless you can show me your best friend's hands and prove that either of you have even actually found your soulmate, you can get out.”

    Jungkook’s jaw clenched. “I was here just two days ago! We spoke to Sejin but he didn’t believe us. Please believe me. I can’t lose my best friend!”

    “Your best friend is fine.”

    “My best friend is laying on his bed feeling fucking exhausted becasue he hasn’t eaten in three days!” Jungkook snapped. “You’re going to kill my best friend! Let me talk to them! I can bring him here! I’ll bring him here just let me talk to them! You’re going to fucking kill them both!”

    “I don’t think bringing back your friend is the right option. In fact, I don’t think either of you should ever come here again. Security!”

    “No! Please, I’m telling the truth! Hear me out!” Jungkook begged as a security guard grabbed him by the arms. “He’s going to die. ”

    “Goodbye.”

    “Fuck you!” He screamed, fighting against a second security guard. “Fuck you and you two! Fuck every single godamn fucking one of you!”

    “If you ever come back again, I’ll have you arrested,” The receptionist promised. “Don’t come back with you or your friend.”

Hoseok was fucking tired. It's been a week and three days. He was dying. He could barely peel his eyes open, his limbs were weak. 

    Jimin seemed to be the only one still trying to find his soulmate at this point. The others had retired entirely to spending Hoseok's last moments together. 

    "Jimin-" Taehyung whispered. Jimin, who was on his phone, stalking social media for anyone with matching soulmate marks to Hoseok's. He hadn't had any luck yet. "Please. He's not going to be here much longer. I don't want you to regret this."

    Jimin shook his head. "I'm not. I'm going to find them. I'm not letting him go."

    "Jimin please," Hoseok whispered, taking a deep breath. "You won't find them."

    "Shut up!" Jimin snapped, shocking them all into silence. "I can't l-lose you! Let me find them! I can't say g-goodbye." Jimin choked on a sob, falling into Hoseok's bed. 

    Hoseok didn't hesitate to slowly lift his arm and stroke Jimin's hair. Jimin looked up at him tearfully. "It'll be alright," Hoseok whispered. He smiled softly. "Things will get better."

    Jimin sobbed into Hoseok's shirt. "I can't- I can't lose you. Please don't go." Tears streamed down his face rapidly. "I need you. I can't do it without you. Screw your soulmate, I can't live without you."

    "You'll have to," Hoseok whispered. His eyes were getting heavier. He blinked slowly, then stared at the ceiling, focusing all his energy into keeping himself awake. He could feel that he was going into the final stage. He was becoming comatose. "I-" he cut off. His eyes closed.

    "Call nine one one!" Jimin shouted. "We need to get him to the hospital! Quick!"

"I'm sorry," Jungkook cried. "I'm sorry. No one believed me. I couldn't-" his voice cracked. "I c-couldn't save you. Pl-please don't leave."

    "I'm sorry," Yoongi rasped. "It's not your fault. You did everything you could."

    "But obviously I didn't!" Jungkook snapped. "If I had- if I had you wouldn't be on your fucking death bed!"

    "You did-" his eyelids started slipping. "Hospital," he whispered, eyes wide. "I can't-" he forced his eyes open wide. "I'm so hungry," he whispered, sniffling. "It hurts. But I'm not ready to go." Tears glistened in his eyes. 

    "Yoongs," Jungkook cried. "Stop. You can't leave." He watched as Yoongi's eyes fought to stay open and he finally realized he needed to call the hospital.

    It was a demanded procedure that when a person got to the point that they could barely stay awake, or had become comatose, they came to the hospital. It's very rare to find soulmates, so not a whole lot of research has been done. Doctors wanted as much time to research and attempt to save patients who found their soulmates as they could. They also tried to make their last moments more comfortable. Yoongi was now at the stage where the doctor should be called.

    Jungkook fumbled for his phone in his pocket. Quickly, he called the emergency number and waited patiently. He didn't even let the person on the other line speak before he was explaining the situation.

    "My friend is entering the comatose state," he rushed out, afraid the words would burn him. He just barely held back a sob. 

    Everything went so quickly after that. The ambulance arrived and loaded Yoongi into the truck. They let Jungkook ride with them to the hospital. Jungkook was freely crying by the time they got there.

    "I'm scared," Yoongi whispered. "Please don't let me go," He whispered as a tear rolled down his cheek.

    Jungkook nodded, grabbing Yoongi's unmarked hand. "I'll hold onto you until they make me leave. Until they pull me off. I don't want you to go."

    Yoongi was about to respond, apologize for leaving Jungkook, when a familiar sight caught his attention. A man with broad shoulders and plush lips crying, holding onto two friends. One crying just as badly, pink bubblegum hair and significantly shorter. The other was on the stretcher, unconscious. He was the most ravishingly beautiful person Yoongi had ever seen.

    He took a deep, heaving breath and collected the last of his energy, focusing it all into his right arm. He lifted his arm and stretched it out, grazing the man's hand. He heard Jungkook and the other two gasp but he paid no mind, grabbing the limp hand and lacing their fingers together. 

    The last thing he felt before his vision went black was warmth in his hand. 

Yoongi woke up warm. Not sweaty warm. Warm like he was safe, comfortable. Like his bedsheets at home, welcoming and inviting. The feeling was strongest in his hand, but spread throughout his entire body. He felt full.

    He blinked himself awake slowly, groaning. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as his jaw unhinged and he let out a yawn like he would at home. It was only when he realized he wasn't at home that he became alert.

    He shot up suddenly, looking around for Jungkook. Last he remembered, they were on the way to the hospital. He was becoming comatose. If that were the case, he should have never woken up. Was he dead?

     The first thing he recognized was Jungkook's head buried into his stomach. His shirt felt wet. Without thinking, he raised his left hand to brush through the tangled strands of Jungkook's hair. The boy's head shot up immediately.

    "Yoongi!" He yelled. Yoongi winced, but he smiled. "I've been so worried! I'm so glad you're awake! You've been asleep for like three days! You must have been really fucking tired because Hoseok woke up on day two and fell back asleep but you just slept through it."

    Yoongi blinked. "Huh?" He said, rubbing his eyes. 

    Jungkook rolled his eyes. "You slept three days?" His face said "Duh!"

    Yoongi scoffed. He was about to explain to Jungkook what he meant when he heard a yawn.

    "Is he awake?" A groggy voice asked. Yoongi's head turned quickly to the side of the room where four boys sat. Two of them were asleep and looked like they'd fallen asleep cuddling. The third seemed to be waking up and the fourth was entirely awake. He had to blink when he realized that in order, the boys he was looking at were Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Kim Seokjin, and Kim Namjoon.

    He didn't understand. He was supposed to be dead. Where was he? What was going on?

    "Yes, he is," Namjoon whispered to Seokjin. "But don't overwhelm him. He's just woken up."

    Yoongi looked back at Jungkook. "What-" he swallowed. "What's going on? I was dying. Am I dead?" 

    Jungkook shook his head, smiling. Tears appeared in his eyes but he blinked them away quickly. "What do you remember?" 

    Yoongi swallowed thickly. "I was becoming comatose," Yoongi answered. "We were being rushed through the hospital, and then everything went dark. I thought I was dying. Why aren't I dead?"

    Jungkook rolled his eyes. "Look next to you, idiot." Yoongi would scold Jungkook for the disrespect, but he really wanted to know what was next to him. He turned slowly, eyes going wide when he saw a hand in his and the person it belonged to.

    "We found him?" Yoongi whispered. "How- but we were in the hospital. We-"

    Jungkook shushed him. "They were pushing you to a room when you noticed Jimin and Jin. I think you just barely had the common sense to reach out to him. Laced your fingers together and then passed out. Must have been the last of your strength.

    "I was gonna cry. Beg you to wake up when I realized whose hand you grabbed. I turned around so quickly I nearly tripped on myself. And then your hands were glowing." Jungkook looked at Yoongi tearfully. "I told you, you won't die."

    "You saved him," Seokjin whispered, sitting up. "We were so scared, we thought we'd lose him. But you saved him."

    Yoongi licked his lips, trying to find the right words. Finally, he settled on, "You guys kicked us out of your building and threatened to arrest us twice."

    Namjoon smiled while Seokjin choked out a combination of a laugh and sob. "I'm sorry. We had no control over that. We didn't know you'd been there until we told Sejin what was going on and he went to his knees apologizing."

    Yoongi smiled weakly. "Good. He was mean to me."

    Jungkook rolled his eyes. "He was almost crying for you. He was not being mean."

    "But he didn't do anything about it," Yoongi insisted. Jungkook scoffed. Yoongi was about to unravel his hand from Hoseok's to push his hair out of his face, but as soon as Jungkook saw his hand moving, he screamed.

    "Stop!" Yoongi froze, turning to Jungkook. He noticed Jimin and Taehyung waking up too. "The doctor said you two aren't allowed to stop touching until he's deemed you both healthy enough! Do you know how slow progress it is for soulmates to heal with only hand skinship? Fucking slow! Keep those hands together!"

    Yoongi nodded slowly. "Okay," he whispered.

    "He's awake!" Jimin shrieked. He jumped up from Taehyung's arms and ran to Yoongi's hospital bed, enveloping him in a hug. Yoongi groaned from the impact, but hesitantly wrapped his free arm around Jimin's back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jimin cried. "We almost lost him! If it weren't for you, we would have. Thank you!"

    Yoongi blinked. "Um-" he swallowed thickly. "My pleasure." 

    Jimin snorted. "Obviously." He rolled his eyes. "You literally would have died if you hadn't done that. But we still appreciate it." Then he narrowed his eyes. "Do you work in customer service?"

    Yoongi sighed. "Yes," he whispered. 

    "My pleasure," Jimin said, snickering. 

    "The doctor said you should eat more," Taehyung said suddenly, sleep evident in his voice. Yoongi looked at him, confused. "You took a lot longer to wake up than Hobi because you're weaker. The doctor said that's because you were underweight before you met Hobi and you hadn't had much to eat beforehand either so you were low in energy."

    "I can't eat," Yoongi deadpanned, swallowing thickly. He wasn't used to people directly calling him out on unhealthy habits. Jungkook did it all of the time, but that was different. That was Jungkook. Jungkook was one in a million.

    "Well, then touch Hoseok more. You two should hold hands often at the very least until you get closer and feel more comfortable, I don't know, hugging! The point is, you've got horrible malnutrition so you need to touch Hobi more. The doctor prescribed it."

    "Oh," Yoongi whispered, licking his lips. "Okay."

    "He's shy," Jungkook said, smirking. "Ah! Hey, your mom told you to stop hitting me! Should I call her again?"

    Yoongi rolled his eyes.

    "Jungkook doesn't have room to say that," Namjoon teased. The corner of Yoongi's lip turned upwards. "The last three days, he's barely said a word without stuttering. You must make him feel more comfortable." 

    Jungkook blushed. 

    "Tested and proven," Yoongi confirmed. 

    "It goes both ways," Jungkook pouted. "You're horrible at making conversation the moment I leave."

    Yoongi rolled his eyes. "Shut up. You're just-"

    "Hoseok's breathing just changed," Jimin said, eyes dead serious. "He's waking up."

    "What-"

    Hoseok groaned, arm stretching out and just barely missing Jimin's face. 

    "Good morning," he said, yawning. 

    "Good morning," Yoongi responded.

    Hoseok's eyes widened in surprise and he nearly jumped, arm flinching and swinging Yoongi's. 

    “Don’t let go!” Jimin shouted. 

    Hoseok blinked rapidly. He squeezed his eyes shut and yawned again. “You should take better care of yourself,” Hoseok commented. “You look like you haven’t eaten in weeks.”

    Yoongi’s jaw dropped. “Fuck you, I should have let us both die.”

    Hoseok chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. I never would have met you then.”

    Yoongi scoffed. “No, that’s what got us into this mess. I wish you were sick that day.” Hoseok grinned. Yoongi was silent for a moment. “So what now?”

    “What do you think about ice skating?”