A/B/O || Jinkook

57. Time out

I wake up when Taehyung and Jimin both get out of bed to get ready for school. I stay for a little while longer before hunger gets the best of me. My feet drag against the floor as I walk to the kitchen. Almost everyone is already sitting at the table eating breakfast of some sort. It's only Seokjin who's missing. Shouldn't he be getting ready for work too? If he's even willing to go back there.

"Yo, Jungkook, how are you feeling?" Namjoon asks when he sees me.

I shrug while walking to the fridge.

"Alright I guess. Do we have anything other than sandwiches to eat? I'm hungry."

"I can cook for you," all of them blurt out at the same time.

I turn around with a strange look and they're almost equally as confused. Why are they so eager to cook for me? Oh, maybe it's to make sure I'm actually being taken care of. 

"It's fine, guys, I can cook myself if we have the ingredients. You all have places to be, so don't let me keep you."

"No, I'll do it," Yoongi insists. "Sit down and I'll fix some ramen in no time."

"But I-"

"Sit."

He's already over at the stove and I comply to his wishes and have a seat at the table. It's sweet that they want to help me but it's sort of... I dunno, excessive? I feel like a child. Like I'm bothering them again. But if I say no to their help then they'll get worried and then I'm bothering them that way instead. There's no winning. I just have to become more independent as fast as I can.

"What are you gonna do today?" Hoseok asks me while I wait for my food. 

"I'm not sure. I was thinking about taking it easy today and then tomorrow I might contact the university and beg them to let me back in."

"Oh, I thought the swim team was your first priority?"

"Kind of, but I'm not allowed in the team if I'm not registered at the school. And schoolwork isn't as physically demanding, so it might be better to get that sorted first. I'm way behind in the courses now too, so it'll take a lot of my time. Even before I dropped out I wasn't doing very well since I couldn't focus."

"But you think you can focus now?"

"Yes, I think so. My mind is more at ease."

He smiles at me.

"Sounds good, Kook. Have to talked with Seokjin-hyung too?"

"Talked to me about what?" Seokjin asks as he enters the kitchen.

He's wearing a big sweater and some jeans, so I assume he's not planning on going to work today. He notices my eyes on him and he smiles upon realizing I was checking him out. I turn back to Hoseok, trying to hide my embarrassed face. I don't know why I'm getting so shy in the first place. Maybe his actions from last night are playing tricks on me. 

"Nothing in particular," I say to move on from the topic. Hoseok gives me a meaningful look, but it's not like I'm trying to avoid it all together. I just don't want to ask Seokjin for a break when literally everyone is here to see it. I'll do it when we're alone.

⩶ΑβΩ⩶

Silence settles in the apartment once everyone but Seokjin and Namjoon leave. Namjoon is in his room and Seokjin is washing dishes in the kitchen while constantly making worried glances at me who's sitting in the couch. I've been trying to watch TV while waiting for everyone to leave but I can't stop thinking about what I need to say to him. I'm nervous as hell. What if he takes it the wrong way? I should stop thinking about or else I'll stress myself out.