why me?

XIV

Seokjin held back cheers of happiness as he heard Jungkook speak, relief washing over him in waves. They had all been so scared that Jungkook wouldn’t be able to slip because of the bad memories, because of the possible trauma they’d caused. Seokjin shook his head, not wanting to overthink it, and focused on the suddenly smaller looking boy.

Jungkook curled up impossibly more in Yoongi’s arms, breathing in the comforting smell of what the boy could only describe as pure Yoongi, a mixture of coffee, Yoongi’s shampoo, and their laundry detergent. Jungkook eagerly snuggled closer, seeking more of the warming comfort he was given for once.

Yoongi smiled as he held the youngest close and rubbed his back. “Wanna say hi to everyone sweetie? They’re very excited to properly say hi”, the boy smiled, to which everyone nodded with wide eyes. 

Jungkook clutched Yoongi’s shirt and Bunbun in his hands, bringing the stuffed animal up to his face so he could hide behind it. He heard a chorus of coos and blushed, trying to hide again. 

Namjoon waved at him, making the boy whine. “Hi Kookie, we’re all so happy to see you hm? How are you?”, he asked softly as both Jimin and Taehyung pushed forward to get closer to Jungkook.

“Oh gosh you’re so adorable, hiiii!”, Jimin cooed, while Taehyung eagerly waved with both hands. “Hi there! I’m gonna be the bestest big brother you hab! We gonna hab wots of fun and pway wots. Can pway if caws, ow the bwocks, ow hide n seek! But no tea pawty, das fow giwws”, Taehyung rambled, his voice growing louder with excitement. 

Hoseok chuckled as he noticed the other boy had slipped, though Jungkook didn’t like it as much as the elder did. He whimpered at the sudden increase in volume and lack of personal space, scrambling to snuggle back into Yoongi’s safe and warm hold.

He heard Taehyung getting pulled away and slightly scolded by Seokjin while Jimin shuffled back to his seat. Yoongi softly rubbed the boy’s back to calm him down. 

“I’m sorry bub, they’re a bit too happy hm? It’s okay, they’re out of your face now”, he whispered to him, making Jungkook slowly peek out. He saw Jimin sitting on the chairs with a pout, while Taehyung looked ready to use the waterworks if it wasn’t for Seokjin promising him candy if he behaved well.

They all gave Jungkook time to come out of his comfort zone, which the boy slowly did. He pulled away from Yoongi and stared at the pacifier on the table. He jumped up as Hoseok reached forward to grab it. 

The elder smiled gently and gave it to him. “There you go bub”, he said softly, making Jungkook stare at him before popping the comfort object into his mouth while slowly looking around the room. 

Seokjin smiled at him and got up. “Let’s all introduce ourselves to Kookie, hm?”

—

They had all left to do their own things as Jungkook slowly explored the house with Yoongi watching over him, opening all the doors to different rooms and often crawling to their closets to grab whatever pretty piece of clothing he saw. 

Yoongi didn’t know what the boy was doing, but he did know not to disturb the boy. He tried once, it ended up with Jungkook crying until Yoongi gave him Seokjin’s pink hoodie back. 

Once they were done exploring the dorms, Jungkook crawled to his room. He managed to climb on the bed with some help from Yoongi and started to delicately put the clothes next to his pillows like a kid would do with their stuffed animals.

Namjoon walked in on the scene and awkwardly knocked on the already open door, wearing nothing but his shorts and a tight shirt.

"Hi, Koo- Why are our clothes all over the bed huh? Did a little bunny go on a trip through our closets?", the leader cooed and smiled as he leaned against the doorframe.

The youngest’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Namjoon, making Yoongi chuckle softly. 

“Do you wanna say something to Namjoonie?”, he smiled and ruffled Jungkook’s hair. The little shook his head and managed a very soft and happy ‘thighs…'

Namjoon snorted and rubbed the back of his neck as Hoseok, who had overheard the scene, laughed loudly. Jungkook flinched and blinked at the sounds before his eyes got glassy.

~~~

His mother’s crying and his father’s yells were deafening, though Jungkook couldn’t hear it as much as he heard the laughter coming from the hallway. It sounded nearly hysterical, bouncing off the walls and attacking Jungkook with such strength, that it felt like someone had sliced his head off. 

Jungkook’s brother continued to point at Jungkook while he laughed his heart out, small tears streaming down his face as he wheezed. He laughed and laughed as Jungkook’s self-worth crumbled to the floor. 

His brother, the one he looked up to the most. The one he was always compared with, the one who turned his back on him while he struggled to keep his head above the water, laughed at him. He laughed at his existence, and Jungkook didn’t know if this was the first time or not. Maybe he was just too naive to notice the cruel jokes before. 

So Jungkook ran past his dad, who swung a no so well coordinated fist at him, past his mom, who screamed as if he was a bug coming closer. He ran past his brother, who continued to laugh and went straight to his room. He grabbed his most important stuff, his phone, his ID, and his charger before he bolted out of the house. A place where he’d never return.

~~~

Hose’s laughter slowly died down as Namjoon worriedly stepped closer. “Kookie, can you hear me? Jungkook?”, he gently shook the zoned out boy, who didn’t respond as silent tears ran down his face. 

Hoseok gasped. “Oh no, did we trigger something? I swear I didn’t mean to!”, he said, making Jungkook flinch at the volume and Yoongi snap at the boy. 

“Well you did, go get Jin hyung or something!”

Yoongi sighed before he gently pulled Jungkook closer in a hug, guiding the boy’s face to his neck. “Breathe baby, hyung is here. You’re safe now”, he whispered to him. 

Jungkook caught a whiff of Yoongi’s smell and twitched before he gasped for air, overwhelmed by all the emotions he felt. So he did the only thing his confused mind could think of.

He burst into even more tears, his sobs filling the room as the others jumped up at the sound.