01: A step closer
21.04.2019
National Institute for Archaeological Survey and Research
“I can touch anything . . . anything like really anything. But not these snake's skin.” Hoseok screeched as his lips curved downwards, showing the disgust his heart was feeling, “Please. For the love of God, hand it to someone else.”
“Oh come on, Hobi! These are just some specimens . . .” Moonbyul sighed, looking at him unbelievably, “It's essential for the spotting exam of the biology department interns.” She pushed her hand forward, trying to somehow hand it to him, but he kept moving back to the opposite side of the desk.
“Sometimes I wonder, how did you even get this job?” She yelled, before heaving out a tired sigh and putting the sample box back on the table.
“Oh hello, everyone has their own fear . . . mine is snakes,” Hoseok yelled back in a defensive tone.
“And darkness,” the no-longer-youngest member of the team yelled from the other side of the corner, making a quick clap sound with the file in his hands.
“Jungkook, you too?” Hoseok pouted, looking at him with hurt in his eyes.
“And ghosts,” the door opened, revealing a man with dark silver hair and a brown hoodie. Adjusting his specks, he walked to them, joining in to bully his mate.
“Do not forget water, Namjoon hyung!” The youngest chirped, settling his round thick arse on the lab counter.
“And not to be left somewhere alone too, Hyunjin!” Moonbyul raised one of her eyebrows while pursing her lips in a thin line afterwards.
“Okay okay! Anything that creates fear is my fear.” Hoseok replied in defense, scratching the back of his nape in embarrassment. Hearing his statement, his teammate and the others sighed and shook their head in unison.
They continued doing their job until they heard the door open once again, revealing the not-so-short girl coming towards them while her raven hair flowed like silk on her back.
“Is everything ready? The students will be here anytime.” She asked in a melodious cheerful voice, breaking the silence to grab their attention.
“Aylin noona~” Hyunjin was fast enough to go and hug her.
All of them turned to her, all smiley and nodded to declare that their work was done. Right after that, following her trail, a man entered with a bundle of paper in his hands. His milky skin shined in the sunlight entering from the glass windows and his minty hair was ruffled in a messy nest, announcing that he came right from his bed or his office loveseat. All of their mouths sealed in a moment.
“I don't want any complaints from the above. It's enough humiliation being here.” He stated annoyingly, slamming the bundle of paper on the table and then settled himself down on a chair, sinking in completely, loving the feel of the softness on his restless aching arse.
“No worries, Yoongi hyung. It's all set. But what about the hangout we all planned for today?” Hyunjin looked at them questioningly. Hearing the words that slipped out of Hyunjin's mouth, everybody literally slapped their forehead in unison.
“Hangout plan? What plan?” Yoongi frowned, his back straightening up, leaving the comfort he found after hours. Cold sweat formed on everyone's forehead, none of them dared to speak but the gulps were evident enough that they were hiding something.
Yoongi's eyes were burning holes in them and all of them turned towards Aylin, pleading her with their eyes to calm the erupting volcano down before the hot magma swallowed them, making them good great fossils for the future generations to research on.
“Um uh . . . yeah! You know there's a new club's opening ceremony . . .” Aylin struggled with her words, suddenly feeling so nervous, “. . . we heard it's very well built so we wanted to visit it together, a-and with that, we can celebrate our last project's success as well. Right, guys?” She turned to them, eyeing them to at least nod to her stupid lie. They sighed with relief and with awkward smiles, they nodded.
“So, meow! Wanna join?” She asked, smiling at him expectingly.
Yoongi faced her and said, “Sugarlips, you know very well, that was just a small project.” He pursed his lips together in a thin line and moved his hands forward in a certain manner as if asking her to understand the situation.
“Our team is now known as the best research team in the archeology department because we worked for it but it's not the time to celebrate. We don't have any tasks anymore,” he gestured at the room they were in, showing how idiotic it was for a team like theirs to be stuck here, “they won't release our funds like this, there's a meeting coming up in the next week and we need to find at least something for them to start the flow of our funds.” He completed, getting up from his seat to gather the papers once again. Aylin's heart ached, noticing how much tensed the senior was.
“Calm down, Meow. We will do whatever you say, I don't like seeing you so stressed.” She was worried about him. She knew he worked hard, he was the one who kept them together, motivating them to push their limits and she was more than glad for his help.
“I’m fine, Sugarlips. Just concentrate on your work, don't let your mind get distracted.” He said and was about to leave the hall but turned again.
“Oh, I forgot! After the examination, you guys can leave, and Sugarlips . . . before you leave, make sure to close the rooms and check the notice board. Okay?” he smiled at her as she nodded and then turned to others, his voice turning into a deep and stern one, “Today's my night shift. So, don't even think about any hangout behind my back.” And with that, he left.
As soon as the mint-haired headache left, every single one of their heads turned to Hyunjin, glaring at him with flaming eyes. If eyes could kill, he could have died hundreds of times at that very moment. Hyunjin gulped, stepping back. His legs were trembling while looking at them, and his heartbeat accelerated as his tongue failed to form any words.
“Wh-What? I-I thought he was also included! Please, I didn't know about this. S-Sorry, please, f-forgive me!”
“You should be thankful that I will kill you with kindness.” The oldest gritted his teeth while stretching his broad shoulders, getting ready for some action.
“And I will kill you with blindness. I won't even notice that you're here.” Moonbyul scoffed, grabbing his collar.
After beating the poor soul into an oatmeal bowl, they went back to their work as if nothing happened.
“You all really don't think of me as a useful member, right?” the youngest asked with a sad pout on his face, “I just try to make you all laugh, that doesn't mean I am stupid,” he sniffed and continued, “one day, you will come to know about that. I will not join you for the hangout.”
“That's already cancelled. All because of you, Mr. Hwang Hyunjin, the great.” Jungkook scoffed, putting his camera inside his bag.
Hyunjin just stomped his feet and said, “That's it, I am leaving and I will not tell you guys where I am going. Just think of me as if I never existed.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” Hoseok snapped his finger in excitement.
Hyunjin picked up his bag and turned to leave. Grabbing the doorknob, he paused for a second and turned. Looking at them over his shoulders, he said, “I will take my leave now.” With that, he left the hall. Everyone stared at the door for a while in silence.
Jungkook sighed and picked up his own bag, “He told us not to notice him as if we were not doing it before.” He laughed, giving a high-five to Hoseok.
“He really spoiled our day. But he is really upset, I guess.” Namjoon's shoulders sulked down.
Aylin smiled, trying to cheer them up, “He is just a kid. Trust me, he will be fine in like . . . 2 days?”
Moonbyul retorted at that, “Any doubt in that?”
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24.04.2019
Archeology Research Lab
-Dr. Min Yoongi
Silence . . .
Only the sound of Yoongi anxiously tapping his finger on the tabletop was echoing in the room. The white-painted walls of the senior's office gnawed at them, sending shivers down their spine.
“For the very last time . . . where is Hyunjin?!” Yoongi asked in an angry and annoyed tone.
Hoseok, “I don't know, really. We thought he wasn't serious when he said he was leaving.”
“Leaving? To where?” Yoongi's eyes widened.
Aylin sensed the building-up tension and said, “Nothing like that. The thing is, we all talked about something and Hyunie got a little upset. We thought that he would forget everything but . . . he didn't, I guess.” She smiled awkwardly, completing her sentence. Yoongi took off his glasses, almost throwing them on the table and rested his forehead between his fingers, massaging his temples in frustration.
“Professor is calling us for the meeting, he said he'll arrange a date as soon as possible. But here, I don't even have my complete team.” He stamped his fist on the table so hard that the wooden name plate resting on the table fell down, and the resting paper weights rumbled together.
All of their back straightened in terror, and they stepped back in unison. The movement was so slight, almost unnoticeable. Yoongi's anger was justifiable, he had too much pressure on him to function calmly. The older rarely ever showed any anger, in fact, he never even raised his voice. But now that he did, they understood how badly they have fucked up.
Aylin gathered her guts together, stepping near him shakily, “Let's make an excuse for the youngest. Please, meow? Everyone is already worried for him.”
Yoongi sighed lifting his eyes to look at her, “Sugarlips—” He paused for a while when Aylin grabbed his hand, pleading to him with her soft eyes. He let out a breath, “Let's see what happens.”
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26.04.2019
Fossil Preservation Lab
There were many glass cabinets in the room and near them was a smart lock, each and every piece stored in them was more precious than their entire existence. Being in that room meant being careful and cautious but that was totally opposite of what their heart were feeling.
“Guys I'm worried now. It's been five days.” Moonbyul said, pacing in the room with quick steps.
Hoseok, “Me too.”
Jin, “Me three.”
“Can you guys stop for god's sake!” Namjoon shouted out of frustration, balling his fist and looking at both of them with deadly eyes. He had a small notepad in his hands and an open cabinet in front of him. “It’s already hard for me to concentrate with all this and if something happened to any of these, we're seriously going down.”
“Sorry!” Both of them pouted, sulking back down once again.
“Only if we have neglected his mistake, he would have been here.” As Hyunjin was the youngest, Jungkook was also his hyung. He was feeling guilty for his own behavior towards him. He was very upset when he got to know that he was no longer the youngest, so he always showed anger towards Hyunjin. But deep down, they both were very loving brothers.
“I should have called him, but my idiot arse . . .” Jungkook sighed, messing his own hair. He sat with his elbows on his knees, facepalming. Namjoon sighed, knowing there was no way any of them could work, he carefully closed the cabinet.
“Chill, ggukie. He will call us real soon. He can't stay mad for such a long time, mark my words.” Namjoon patted the younger's back trying to calm him.
Just at the moment, the door opened and Yoongi stepped inside with a sling bag on one shoulder and two duffle bags under his eyes. He settled on a stool and looked at them with a tired expression. They knew what he was going to ask but no one dared to answer him before. So, he finally asked himself.
“Is Hyunjin here today?”
With that, all of their palms felt like they were sweating. They stood awkwardly to greet him but just to save them that moment, Aylin's phone rang. She smiled at Yoongi awkwardly and picked it up from the table to look at the caller ID. She must thank the person for saving their lives.
Her eyes squinted slightly when she looked down at her phone screen. Unknown Number, it read. She was still grateful so she picked it up single-handedly and asked in a soft, loving tone.
“Who's this?”
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a/n:
as promised, it's here. hope to see your support! what are your thoughts?
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