To Sink Like a Stone

10 - Back to Normal

Yoongi peeled his eyes open. He was still on the couch, but Jungkook was missing. He must've left after Yoongi fell asleep.

Then a clatter came from the kitchen. It was the click of metal against metal, a pan hitting the stove. And Yoongi could smell something, too: beef. He headed toward the kitchen, careful to not trip on the way.

As he was concentrating on his steps, Yoongi nearly crashed into Jin, who was carrying a hot pan of vegetables to the sink. "You're awake!" another voice called from deeper in the kitchen. Jungkook stepped out from behind the cupboard door. Both boys had pink aprons tied around their waists and spatulas in hand. "The bulgogi is almost done. Go have a seat."

Yoongi crawled back to the couch, where he waited, elbows on his knees, while the oldest and the youngest members worked on whatever meal they'd decided it was time to make. He scanned the room in the meantime. Taehyung hadn't come back. His shoes were still missing, along with his house key.

On the table, there was a bowl of colorful candies that hadn't been there when Yoongi drifted off a few hours earlier. Jin must have brought them when he came over. But why?

Plates in both hands, Jungkook entered the room twirling, presenting Yoongi with the meal he'd slaved for hours over the stove to make. However, Yoongi was still stuck on the candy. "M&M's?" he asked.

A flash of pride slid across Jin's face. "You like Eminem, right?" Jungkook explained. The older boy could only sigh. "It was Jin's idea."

"I can tell." Yoongi glared. "And whose idea was this?" he asked more politely, pointing at the beef.

Turning red, the youngest grinned. He took a seat next to the boy on the couch and gestured for Jin to grab a plate, but instead, he excused himself from the room. Taehyung had apparently been very little help at his meeting with Namjoon, and Jin needed to rescue their situation.

Jungkook leaned forward in anticipation as his friend moved to take his first bite. Knowing Yoongi hadn't eaten a real meal for at least a week, he felt a wave of relief rush over him when his friend finally ate, especially without any resistance. Jungkook picked up his chopsticks and joined in. The food was good, to neither's surprise; the Golden Maknae had made it.

"I still don't take back what I said," Jungkook spat out mid-meal. Head tilted in confusion, Yoongi turned to him. "I mean, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong. What's really wrong."

The chopsticks went down. Yoongi sat back on the couch and sighed. He couldn't think of what to say. He knew what was wrong, exactly what was wrong, but he didn't want to say it. Saying it would make it worse, he was convinced.

"Are you angry at me?" the younger peeped up.

Yoongi shot back up to the edge of the couch, eyebrows tugged inward. "What? No, why would I be--"

"I thought you were mad at me for getting myself hurt, like I always do, so you didn't come see me."

Shaking his head, Yoongi opened his mouth to speak, and after hesitating, he forced out the words. "And I thought I" -- killed you. But he couldn't finish. Instead he restarted. "I thought you were mad at me for making you fall."

Jungkook spent the next handful of minutes insisting all the blame fell upon himself. Yoongi denied any grudge he could have held against the younger. They made up and mended what was broken before. And in the process, their beef began to cool off, so they had to scarf it down before it was too cold to stomach.

"Oh, lord. I'm going to have to write an apology for this, won't I?" Yoongi said, turning his phone toward his friend. On the screen was a video of him collapsing on stage at their last performance.

Jungkook laughed despite making a conscious effort not to watch the video. Just with a glance, though, he knew what it was. "I guess you'll just have to get more sleep then," he replied, ruffling his elder's hair. "I have a doctor's appointment, so I better get going. Catch up on that sleep while I'm gone. And if this check-up goes well, I might be able to practice soon."

Yoongi smiled back, excited for another normal practice after having missed so many. He listened as the door clicked shut behind Jungkook, then didn't bother moving himself to his bed before nodding off again on the sofa.

Maybe the group could go back to normal. They were fixed.