Lean On Me (Yoonmin)

FIVE

"Come on Jimin, you haven't touched the meal yet! Hurry before I eat it all!" Jin grinned at Jimin through a mouthful of food.

Jimin look up and saw four more heads turn towards him, waiting patiently for him to pick up his chopsticks. He sighed and held out his bowl.

The maknae took Jimin's bowl and spooned in some stew. "Here you go hyung," Jungkook smiled as he passed the bowl back.

Jimin sighed again and started to eat, his members returning to their conversations. The restaurant was bustling and it did well to distract most of the members from Yoongi's absence, at least on the surface. But Jimin couldn't think of anything else.

As if he'd read his mind, Namjoon, who happened to be sitting next to him leaned in. "Don't worry about Suga-hyung, it's probably best to let him sleep it off."

"I know. But I still feel like maybe we should have waited for him to wake up before coming here. Asked if he wanted to join us?"

"Just for him to say no again? You know I'm worried about him too, of course I am, but he'll probably prefer being alone just now."

"But that's the problem. He wants to be alone all the time, but that's not what he needs! He needs us and we just abandoned him!"

"We didn't abandon him hyung. If anything, you could say it's the other way around. He needs his space, and when he's ready to talk he will, but right now no one's getting anything out of him. But when he is ready, I'd put money on you being the one he talks to first." Namjoon smiled encouragingly at Jimin.

Jimin returned the smile and nodded, though not at all convinced. How could they all be here, laughing and joking, enjoying a meal together when one of them was missing? When one of them had been missing from the group for the last couple of months. The brief, drunken conversation last night was the most anyone had gotten out of Yoongi in ages, which wasn't saying much. But Yoongi had apologised... apologised to Jimin for worrying him. Which showed that he did still care, that he wasn't just an impenetrable wall.

Jimin wondered if Yoongi had found the note he'd left on his pillow yet. He hoped that the note might have gotten through to him in a way that no one else could, maybe just the fact that he could read it on his own in his own time might help. But he was starting to worry now. What if I was too stern? What if he feels like I'm lecturing him? What if I crossed a line? What if it pushes him further away? Jimin shook his head, trying to push these thoughts from his mind, and returned to his meal.

Brrrrrrrr.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and absentmindedly retrieved it and glanced lazily at the screen.

ONE MESSAGE - YOONGI

Well that grabbed his attention. For reasons he wasn't quite sure of, Jimin wanted to leave the table and read the message away from all the hustle of the restaurant.

"I'm just going to the toilet, I'll be back in a sec." He said to no one in particular. He made his way out of the restaurant and leaned against the outside wall.

Jimin took a deep breath - he felt a surge of anxiety for some reason - and opened the text message.

Jimin

I'm sorry.

Please help me.

**********

Within minutes Jimin was back at the dorm, knocking furiously on his hyungs' bedroom door.

"Suga? Suga hyung open up!"