ᴄᴀʟʟ ɪᴛ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ

seven

Upon hearing Taehyung's arrival, Jay immediately sprung out of Jin's arms and out the bedroom to the main door.

Taehyung was slipping his shoes off when Jay had suddenly jumped atop his back and caused him to stumble a few steps in front.

The younger was currently clung onto his back as if tomorrow didn't exist, and Taehyung struggled to get him off.

"Hey buddy," he tried, his voice strained. "Get down for a while so that hyung can stand up yeah?"

And just like that, Jay let go of Taehyung's back and sat limp on the floor, watching the latter's every move as if he could run away any second.

From the room, Jin emerged with slightly tousled hair and immediately sighed with relief when he saw Taehyung present.

"Thank God you're back," Jin said, looking lovingly at Jay. "I thought I might have to stay for a night in here."

"Thanks for taking care of him, hyung," Taehyung smiled warmly. Then once he realised nobody was behind the elder, he asked, "Where's Namjoon-hyung though?"

"Oh," Jin's reflected smile faltered a little. "He had to go early."

"Why?"

"Jungkook hasn't been picking up a single call we've been making," Jin continued, tone a little more serious this time. "Well, this has gone long enough and today we made a police report and Joon went over to talk to the officers."

"Oh," was all Taehyung could choke out. With all the racket going on about Jay and his life, he had completely forgotten about his friend going missing.

"W-Where did you see him last?" Taehyung managed, causing Jin to look up at him with glossy eyes.

"In our apartment," Jin's voice broke. "I can't help but blame myself, Taehyung. I feel like he stormed out of that house because of me."

"What makes you say that?" Taehyung said softly, taking a few steps closer to his hyung, who looked like he might break down any second.

"I was just looking out for him," Jin continued on. "We had an argument that day, about his. . . headspace and mentality."

Headspace and mentality? Taehyung gawked at the words in his mind. It was like it was of a different language, and Taehyung stared up on it with unfamiliarity.

"What do you mean?"

"He's a little," Jin went. "And I'm kind of his caregiver."

-

Shortly after the unfinished conversation with Jin, Taehyung had joined him back in the living room, with Jay already taken care of and tucked under his bed.

He figured Jay need not participate in his conversation with Jin. The child needed to rest anyway.

He approached the elder, who was currently sitting down on his couch, patiently waiting for him.

"Do you love him?" Jin asked upon his arrival, looking straight ahead.

Taehyung could only stare back at his hyung with utter confusion.

"Jay, I mean," Jin looked into Taehyung's eyes now.

"Oh," Taehyung managed, not being able to answer the question. Sure he cared for the child, but he wasn't entirely sure of the word love.

"How would you feel if you lose him?" Jin rephrased, noticing the younger's hesitance.

"I'd. . ." Taehyung began. "I don't know what I'd do."

Jin nodded slightly at this.

Both males spent the next minute or so with absolute silence, every second adding up to the thickness of the awkward atmosphere around them.

Until Jin finally spoke up.

"Ever since I got together with Namjoon, Jungkook suddenly slipped into his child-like headspace more often, and that required me to attend to him often as well.

But for obvious reasons, I couldn't possibly care for him like that especially now that I'm in a relationship with someone. And so I talked to him about it when he was big."

"Wait," Taehyung interrupted. "What do you mean you couldn't care for him like that?"

"Caregivers of littles," Jin started. "Require other special things done in approval of the little. For example, Jungkook asks for a. . . sexual punishment whenever he does something naughty or bad when he's in his little space."

Taehyung's look made Jin immediately clear his throat.

"But it's not like that for us! I. . . never engaged anything with him simply because he never told me to."

The younger just nodded empathetically and waited for Jin to continue.

"Anyway, when I finally brought this up to him explaining why I couldn't attend to him as regularly anymore, he suddenly got mad I guess. He started spluttering bullshit saying how Namjoon was more important than him and how I always put Namjoon before everything. We argued for a while before I lost it and called him selfish for always always putting his headspace before anything and everyone else.

"He ran away after that," Jin stopped momentarily, sighing. "I feel horrible, I didn't mean to say those things Taehyung I-"

The elder was crying now, and Taehyung did nothing but try to comfort him to the best of his abilities.

"He has no one," Jin sniffled, once he finally calmed down. "No willing official caregiver to look after him. And now he probably thinks he's a freak because of everything I just told him. He probably thinks it's wrong to be a little. God Taehyung, I just can't bring myself to even think about it."

"I just hope he's okay wherever he is," Taehyung consulted. "We'll find him hyung, I promise."

And soon the two sat the quietest, absorbing nothing but the presence of one another, both absolutely too engrossed with their thoughts to even notice or hear the front door creak open followed by a faint sound of footsteps pattering away.