Low Stress: Puppy-Love (Jikook)

Chapter Eleven: Hostile Take-over

"I'm still not used to being on this side of the booth." Jungkook said as he awkwardly played with the headphones Yoongi had handed him earlier. He was standing inside the recording booth alone while Jin, Namjoon, and Yoongi sat on the other side of it.

"I'm going to play you the instrumental first. The lyrics to the track are in front of you. Remember, this is just for fun so don't worry about getting the chorus perfect. Just try and follow what you can." Yoongi said while pressing a button on his producing equipment, his voice coming over the intercoms of the recording booth. "I want to see what you do with a real track."

"Super-tuna was a real track." Seokjin said, waving a spoon. "And Jungkook killed it on that one."

Yoongi snorted, then did the little fish movement with his hand that Seokjin came up with for the song he let Jungkook practice recording with earlier. Yoongi had a shit eating grin as he did it and Jin flung his head back laughing before joining in the choreography.

They'd been in Yoongi's studio for a couple hours now. Namjoon was sprawled on a swivel chair, hands behind his head as he and Yoongi swapped production notes and Jin watched from the couch. Jungkook rubbed his tattoo, wishing he had sleeves to roll up. He grabbed his nearly empty coffee instead, taking a swig. The song they'd just recorded was ridiculous, almost enough to get Jungkook's mind entirely off of his day.

Thinking back to when he had called Yoongi made his ears red. Jungkook hadn't said much, just hyung, are you free tonight?, but his voice itself had begged the words.

Yoongi hadn't asked for details. Didn't hesitate saying yes, either. He didn't push, like Jungkook knew he wouldn't, and his heart warmed the way it always did because of that. Yoongi was like a cat in that way, quiet and observant and knowing, but he was subtle.

"Call me when to come pick you up." Yoongi had replied. "You're not driving."

Jungkook had swallowed. "Thanks," he'd said, but the word didn't capture the gratitude he felt.

Yoongi wasn't a words guy, but Jungkook had half-laughed, half-cried in response. Jungkook was worried to even drive Jimin home, let alone drive to Yoongi's place after. His emotions were a storm, his mind floating. Sometimes a drive could calm him down, but he felt the way he sometimes saw Jimin lock up. His mind locked on one thought or too many thoughts and the world around him suddenly hard to interact with. Driving like that wasn't a great idea, and Yoongi knew that without having to even see him. Jungkook decided then and there that he forgave him for sharing what he had with Hoseok.

Jungkook was embarrassed thinking about how his voice had sounded on that call now that he'd calmed down. He sounded like he was on his knees, crying in Yoongi's lap. He thought himself better than that, stronger too, but in that moment he'd been at a complete loss. His lips had burned, his body genuinely shaking. The world had tilted so astronomically that Jungkook thought he'd fallen through a black hole into some alternate universe. So, when Jimin had left that theater, when that door echoed shut and all sound died with it, Jungkook had called Yoongi and begged for help.

Yoongi had been waiting in front of Jungkook's apartment with an iced americano and an order of chipotle in the back seat of his car. The bag of food was large and when Jungkook had taken the coffee, raising his brow at it, Yoongi told him Seokjin and Namjoon were going to join them at the studio. Jungkook had nodded, because he missed his friends and wanted to see them too. Maybe talking about his feelings would honestly help. Maybe he didn't mind a night with his hyungs. Maybe this time, he didn't want to deal with his mess alone.

Half empty chipotle bowls were now on the table behind the production booth. Seokjin sat cross legged in a hoodie on the couch next to it, his bowl still in his lap. When Namjoon and Seokjin had joined, they'd given Jungkook a hug and the boys went straight into talking music. Namjoon showed Jungkook some of his songs that needed adlibs and backing vocals and the four of them started to work from there. It was nice, actually, to hang out and workshop together. Namjoon and Yoongi were so passionate about music production that it was infectious to share the space with them. The creative energy built in the room and helped Jungkook feel like he was helping create something instead of destroying it for once.