TWO FOR ONE.

二十

Jeongguk was stuck; he was stuck in his own mind.

He couldn't help but worry about the boys he'd grown to care about massively. They'd been with him and Seokjin for just under a month and already they had faced some trifling times together. Sure he had to leave them alone before, but not when he knew they were in a vulnerable state. Before he had the piece of mind that Jimin was able to take care of Taehyung if he slipped, but now they had the knowledge that they were both went through age regression (which didn't come as much of a suprise considering they'd both been through the same horrors). It made them so much more vulnerable and it raised Jeongguk's worries about them. If he could, he would be by their side all the time to always ensure their safety.

But as life goes, he didn't get what he had been wanting. While he was comforting Jimin, he received a call from work that requested him to come in to approve of a search warrant for the police. He had no choice but to oblige. He was very much conflicted, but he forced to go to work even if he didn't want to in this particular moment.

He inevitably had to leave Jimin in the safe, capable hands of Seokjin and Hoseok; he wished it had been him who was able to bring Jimin comfort. Over the time he had known them, he'd bonded with them in the most unusual way. They weren't going to speak of their past misfortunes, but even so, they were able to connect on a personal level where they were able to be comfortable in each others raw, open space.

As for Taehyung, before he left he made sure to give him a few snacks as well as a drink because he knew Seokjin and Hoseok would be occupied with Jimin for quite a while. He kissed him on the forehead then left him to watch Elf, since he seemed to love it so much. He was able to take a breather knowing Taehyung would be okay with the occasional whine at the television if the plot didn't go how he wanted it to.

He tried to push the thoughts of home away from his mind as he lifted his head from his desk in his long while of contemplation and worry.

"Mr Jeon? Here's the Ahn-Lee case you asked for yesterday. There are pictures of the scene and statements from both parties." Jeongguk's assistant spoke as he handed him the file.

"Uh," Jeongguk cleared his throat. "Thank you Yoongi-ssi."

Yoongi offered a genuine, small smile. "You're welcome. How's Seokjin hyung doing? I haven't heard from him in a while."

"He's well," Jeongguk returned Yoongi's kind smile. "He's been rushed off his feet for the past month or so but you know how he is."

"The last time I spoke to him he said something about lost... kids?" Yoongi remembered as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "Does this mean you guys are thinking of adoption? Don't you live apart?"

"No uh, actually, we have guests. Well, they stay at mine so Seokjin stays over more frequently. We haven't really talked about moving in together... we've been busy lately." Jeongguk explained as we ran a hand through his lengthy, thick, raven locks.

"Ahh, maybe I should reach out to him today. It'll help his stress, even if he doesn't know it."

Jeongguk gave a nonchalant chuckle. "I both love and hate that about Seokjin. He puts so much on himself and never complains, even when it evidently becomes too much for him and he still doesn't acknowledge his own stress."

"He has no excuse either. A psychologist and he can't even identify his own stress. He should know better than anyone the effects of cortisol." Yoongi emitted a small sigh. "Maybe it already got to him and shrunk his brain."

"He's an idiot," Jeongguk agreed. "But he's my old idiot. Anyways, let me get on with this case or I really won't go home until the early hours of tomorrow morning."