Rainbow - BTS

30 - Yellow

i'm not perfect: nobody can be
i wonder what others think it's like, to be me
flawlessness just doesn't exist
it's not a game of who gets onto the nice list

when you mess up, that's okay
because tomorrow is always another day

Hoseok hears about Taehyung's disappearance from Namjoon, the day after a certain green finds him puking in a gutter early in the morning. When a certain purple has realised that Tae has gone missing. And without knowing the context, or anything about the situation, he's worried. The orange doesn't normally vanish, according to Namjoon, which means that something has happened. Something's gone wrong.

He calls Yoongi, asks if he's seem Taehyung. The negative response is concerning, but Hoseok relays the information to Namjoon, who just says he's already checked with the indigo. Which makes sense. Of all people to turn to, it would make sense if the blue turned to his brother first.

And then Hoseok calls Jungkook.

"Hey, hyung, what's up?" the green greets the older male, sounding perfectly fine, and Hoseok sighs.
"I'll cut to the chase, if you don't mind: Namjoon says that Taehyung has gone missing," the blonde explains tiredly.
"And you're calling around to see who's seen him, I'm guessing?" Jungkook asks quietly.
"Exactly."

There's a moment of silence, and then the younger male speaks up. "I mean this in the nicest way possible, Hobi hyung, but why are you the one investigating? Taehyung is a client, an author, and one day of disappearance isn't too major, I wouldn't think-"

He's cut off by something, and Hoseok can hear a voice in the background, saying something to the green in a nervous voice. Jungkook, hums in understanding. "I see. That makes a lot more sense, actually. So....Hobi hyung is on the phone now, asking about you, because your brother's freaking out."

"Is Tae with you?" Hoseok questions, shocked, and Jungkook hums in confirmation, sounding surprisingly unbothered by the whole affair. "How did that happen? And why is he there, instead of anywhere else? I thought you guys didn't know each other that well?"

"Tae hyung made a mistake, and I found him. I don't know how much of this I should share. It's not really my story to tell, to be honest, and I still don't really know all the details of it all. But he's safe. Tell Namjoon to call me, Tae's phone is broken. I think he- he doesn't want you to know how it broke, but he's gonna get a new one soon. I think."

"That would be a good idea, since he'll need it to be in contact with people. Does he plan on going home soon?" Jungkook relays the question, and Hoseok can just about hear something in the background.

"He says he does, he just...needs a few minutes to collect his brains and then he's good to move. I don't quite believe that...but whatever. I don't think I should make too many judgements right now. Like I said, I don't have all the facts, so I can't draw the right conclusions yet. Sorry, hyung. You were right to say that we don't know each other too well, so it seems unfair for me to question his motives right now. Plus I don't think his brain is fully functioning yet."

The green chuckles a little, and Hoseok frowns in confusion, deciding just a moment later to drop it. "I'll text Namjoon. Thanks for your help, Kook. I'll see you soon."
"No problem, hyung. I hope things calm down a little soon." Hoseok sighs, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his work chair.
"So do I, Kook, so do I."

After a short text conversation with Namjoon, the exhausted editor sends a text to his best friend. She appears only a few minutes after the message with a cup of coffee, a cookie, and a worried smile.

"Lisa, thank you," Hosoek mumbles, grabbing the coffee and downing it in one drink. "Fuck, I need caffeine more than ever right now." His best friend sits down, opposite him, sliding the cookie across the desk towards him. "And sugar. I've earned it, I think."
"What's going on?" the turquoise-haired young woman questions, concerned. "Is everything okay?"

The blonde nods. "It is now."
"Well?" she presses, leaning forward as he bites down on the cookie. "Are you gonna keep me in suspense?"
"Sorry, Aqua. It's been a bit of a mad morning," he tells her, through the sweet treat in his mouth. "Gimme five seconds."

As promised, he starts to explain a few seconds later. "So....I get into work, get a call from Joon telling me that Kim Taehyung, our new author, has gone missing, and aforementioned author's older brother is freaking out big time. Took a while for things to make sense, because of the freaking out, and then I called Yoongi."

"I'm guessing Joon already tried him?" Lisa guesses, and Hoseok nods.
"Yup. I decided to call Kook, just in case, and it turned out that Taehyung was at his house." Lisa frowns in confusion, and the blonde nods in confirmation. "My reaction exactly. It didn't make much sense, until Kook explained that he just found Tae yesterday. He wouldn't give any more details. Something about respecting Tae's privacy, and that it wasn't his story to tell. He didn't have all the facts, or something?"

Lisa tilts her head at her best friend. "He's not normally that closed off, with this sort of thing," she points out. "Sure, he's not a dick when other people struggle, but he doesn't hide it so much."
"Well, I am technically Taehyung's boss at this point. It wouldn't be very fair for him to tell me everything that's going on without Taehyung's permission. Maybe he just saw it like that."

"Maybe he's just a teenager growing up, then, Sunshine," Lisa comments quietly. "I get why you're stressed about all this, but aren't you freaking out a bit too much? This is everyone else's issue. And anyway, you don't really let personal stuff impact work this much. What's going on?"

Hoseok sighs, shrugging and shaking his head. "I don't know. There's been a lot of coincidences lately, and I'm starting to get a little worried about it all. Things just seem...more connected than they should be, and it's weird. It's freaking me out."

His best friend tilts her head at him. "Huh?"
"Think about it," Hoseok responds. "We all know each other, in some way, and we're all related by family bonds or work bonds. Somehow, my closest coworker has family ties to my newest author, who happened to imagine our best illustrator without ever meeting him. And, of course, our most successful author, the poet, is also related to this new author, and he works with the best illustrator."

Lisa frowns. "That is weird. I should also mention: when I went to visit Joon's shop to check up on them all, I felt like I already knew the guy that was working there. He's new, and he's the one that Yoongi met because of the manuscript stuff. And his neighbour is a massive fan of Yoongi's. What are the chances of that?"

Hoseok runs a hand through his hair. "The longer this goes on for, the more I freak out, to be honest. We need to figure out what the hell is going on, and quickly. Because it's just not normal. Normally, people are separate entities with their own lives,families, coworkers, whatever. This is too connected for things to be normal at this point."

His best friend shrugs. "Maybe this is just an odd coincidental situation," she points out. He just sighs, and she nods in understanding. "I get it. It's strange. We don't know what's going on, and that's scary. But we've always been uncertain about stuff. We just have to decide how to respond."

Hoseok looks over at her, frowning. "So how do we respond?" he questions.
"I don't know, Sunshine. It all depends on how much you trust the people you work with. If you trust Yoongi, Joon, and Jungkook, then maybe it's alright. If not, maybe things aren't alright. Once we figure out whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, we can figure out what we wanna do about it."

He tilts his head at her. "What do you mean?"
"Is it really so awful that everyone knows each other? Is it really so bad that Jungkook actually found Taehyung, and made sure he was safe? Is it bad that Yoongi is alive because of Namjoon, who's really easy to work with? Is it so bad that we all somehow understand each other?"

"You have a point," the blonde editor admits, and she smiles.
"I'm not a needle, Sunshine. I don't." He rolls his eyes, and she laughs at him. "There's the Jung Hoseok I know. If you're really worried, we can talk about it another time. But I believe that things are gonna be okay. Deep breath, and let things happen. That's how we've always done things. Don't let a little coincidence change that for you."

He does as she suggests, taking a deep breath and trying to rationalise his thoughts. "Thanks, Aqua. What would I do without you?"
"I'm imagining many mental breakdowns," she responds simply, and he chuckles, nodding in agreement.

"Shit, you right."