In the middle vmk

FORTY TWO

Jungkook wasn't stupid. Sure, he could be a little naïve- okay, maybe a lot- but that didn't mean that he couldn't understand a tricky situation when he saw one. He had noticed how his boyfriend had been on edge all day ever since that strange man left. When he had been standing in the kitchen, munching on some pancakes, he had tried his best to listen to their conversation that existed out of hushed whispers and a lot of words Jungkook didn't quite understand.

But that didn't mean he didn't understand a single word of it. It also was easy to tell that the stranger had been upsetting his boyfriend to the point that Taehyung was telling him to leave.

Jungkook didn't feel like saying anything about it though. So when Taehyung turned around after the stranger had left, and he noticed the tired expression on his boyfriend's face, he decided to act innocent. He couldn't bring himself to confront the older and upset him even further. So he merely took another bite out of his pancake and smiled, "Can I help make pancakes?"

He was fine with it- totally fine. He had ignored Taehyung's weird behavior, had acted like Jimin wasn't giving him sideways glances, and had left for the bathroom to do his nightly routine just to give the two males some time alone. He wasn't stupid. He knew his boyfriends discussed things when he wasn't around, things that were too serious for him too understand or maybe they didn't bother telling him because he was too young.

Anyway, it maybe did annoy him when he pressed his ear against the door and could hear Taehyung explain who the stranger was. It also maybe pissed him off how easy it seemed for Jimin to get Taehyung to talk. And maybe he was angry at the fact that the blue haired male always seemed to trust Jimin with new information and how easy it was for them to keep it from him.

But he kept it bottled up inside of him and walked out with a smile on his lips. "Ready for bed?", he asked the other two with a tilt of the head. He then headed into the bedroom, claiming the right side of the bed, ignoring the jealous feeling in his tummy when he heard them hesitate for a bit.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Life wasn't that easy for Jungkook, especially in Korea. Even though his Korean was improving and his parents finally seemed happy now that he had friends, he wasn't that happy with the rest of it. After Taehyung had beat up his bullies a week ago the bullying hadn't stopped, not even for a day. They just hit him in places where it was hidden from his boyfriends and parents.

He still went to the gym whenever he had time and he tried getting stronger for his own sake. Maybe once he got the confidence to hit back - and not just when he was drunk at a party- maybe the bullying would finally stop. If they would be scared of him, maybe they would stay away from him. Maybe if he got strong enough, his boyfriends would finally see him as a man and not just a mere boy. Maybe they would trust them with their problems and maybe he could help and protect them as well.

It was just a hopeful thought. He first had to fight the bullies before he could think of becoming a man.

His boyfriends didn't notice any of the bullying. It was quite easy to hide things from them and he realized that maybe they got that same feeling when they hid things from him. Jungkook just kept it all to himself.

The bubble was about to burst though.

It was a Monday, a rainy & gloomy Monday night when Jungkook rang the door to his boyfriends' apartment. He had been terrorized once again, limping a bit from where Yugyeom had kicked him. His hips were bruised and his knees were scraped but none of that mattered when the thought of seeing his boyfriends cheered him up.

The door to the apartment opened and Hoseok stood in the doorway with his famous bright smile. "Jungkookie!", he almost yelled, pulling the younger into a hug, "It's been a while!"