Heartbeat 《BTS!SOULMATE》

6. The Wait

○

《BTS P.O.V.》

●

No one was able to convince Hoseok that he shouldn't go alone. They all argued, Jimin and Jungkook more than anyone - but to their surprise and frustration - Hoseok's argument was solid. If they all left Korea, there was no way to properly convince the public that nothing was wrong. They had to keep that leverage, that presence in case things got settled quickly. What did it matter though, when his life was on the line?

But, none of them managed to change his mind. They had to respect his boundaries. Regardless of how they felt about it, after all... None of the members knew what else they could do, after all. They did their best to look up as much info as they could. Looking up the name, fanart online, Brazilian landscapes... anything Hoseok could match up with what he had seen. But, no matter their effort, Hoseok barely had any reaction. Barely gave them any input back. In all their time living together in the last 7 years, none of them had ever seen him so distraught and... hollow.

Hoseok was loud and expressive to his emotions when just between them, so the way his character switched off the more hours passed weighted painfully to all the others. As the hours passed, Hoseok's shock overcame his open nature regarding his insecurities - and that caught them off guard. The more they comforted him and tried to cheer him up, to be there for him in that moment, the more Hoseok seemed lost in thought and closed off.

For the first time, he needed them more than the other way around - but they weren't enough to lift him up and reassure him, not in the way he always seemed to so naturally be able to do so for them. And none of them knew how to handle that feeling without burdening him even more. They realized how lost and awkward they all felt when he wasn't there to reassure or comfort them, to help them focus without losing hope. Seokjin and Namjoon did their best to fill his shoes, as they always did whenever Hoseok was not feeling too well, but in this situation even they were not fully able to keep up that role.

The boys remained in the company's building once Hoseok left for the flight, in the evening. None of them was able to focus on anything beyond their phones and the manager's updates on the situation. They split up between rooms after a little though; Yoongi vanished into his studio soon after Hoseok's left, Seokjin and Jungkook buried themselves in their phones, looking up articles and videos about long distance bonds and discussing their found results. Jimin and Taehyung fled for a while for the recreation room, but came back a few hours later; both puffy faced and with red eyes, clearly from crying, but none of them called both out on it.

Namjoon called the Managers a few more times, but it only made his heart sink further. Not only for the lack of good news, but even further when he denied - per medical advice - Namjoon's request at talking with Hoseok himself. It was close to 1 AM when he dropped his attempts to research. The others were all still in the same room, still discussing theories but in lighter tones and often jumping into softer topics, comforting each other. They all looked drained, tired, much like he himself felt. Jimin and Jungkook looked particularly puffy faced, Seokjin was unusually quiet, the way he always got when he was either mad or too emotive and needed some time to himself.

The managers brought them some take out dinner soon after that, since none of them had accepted to go out and have it before or taken when they brought them some food earlier on. With that much exhaustion though, reading, crying and being tense for so long, this time no one refused.

Namjoon went out to check on Yoongi while the managers went to pick the delivery up, so he could eat with them too. Usually it took a moment for him to open the door when Namjoon knocked, but this time, steps rushed towards his door and it opened immediately. From behind it, Yoongi's face appeared with anxious eyes. The way he looked away and his eyes looked red confirmed Namjoon's assumption about why his hyung had secluded himself. He always did this, in difficult moments like this.