JIN POV:

It's hard to be the person you want to be when instincts can sometimes push you in another direction. When I want nothing more than to dote and fuss over my new packmates, to flit around and between both connected apartments and bustle in and out of each and every room, setting things in order or adding some of my personal touches. It's hard because sometimes when my new predator dongsaengs are making their way through the apartment, they don't intentionally creep up on me, but their naturally much more silent tread means that I don't hear them until their voice floats through the air and makes me startle, abruptly pulled out of the task I'd been doing as if cold water has abruptly drenched me and made my feathers all ragged and soaked. It's not a pleasant feeling or experience.

And my much duller sense of scent as a black swan hybrid means I can't catch their scents as they approach, can't detect what it is that makes my bunny twitch and jump when the others are deep in thought or frustrated and it makes their scents sharpen. Because it makes me feel like I'm failing Kookie, that I can't protect him or reassure him when I can't sharply detect what it is that at times causes him to stiffen, at times bolt behind me, fingers lightly grazing my feathers and peering over my shoulders.

And so when Namjoonie and Jimin enter the apartment, their scents are sharp and poignant enough, that even my considerably weaker sense of smell picks up on it- a burning sharp pungent mixture of their scents that seem to clash against each other, battle silently and merge into a confusing thick mixture of pheromones, I know immediately something's wrong.

Because it causes a stiffness in the air when we all gather for dinner in the other apartment, around the large dining table. Because Jimin and Namjoon seem to be venting whatever's bothering them onto the food, stabbing at it with vicious sharp strikes, mauling and mutilating the food more than they eat it. Because even though Tae had been seated beside Jiminie, his tail curls and sways slowly, carefully, Yoongi protectively edging close from Tae's other side, to hover, subtly touching Tae and dragging his chair away in the slightest. Because Hobi who'd been trying to lighten the mood gets a low growl for his troubles when he prods and pokes, hand falling away and face twisting into a look of sadness before he forces it away; as if he's not bothered, as if not letting it show how much the rejection stings.

And Kookie, Kookie clings to me, plastered against my side, ears droopy as if his instincts are trying to shut down on the sound too, flinching when the low growl rips through the air- startling everyone, pushing everyone to be on edge. He flinches back, hand gripping more tightly at my arm, the twitch of his nose felt when he burrows his face into my arm to hide.

"It's okay bun." I soothe softly, voice a low murmur. I feel my wings flap restlessly behind me, shifting because there's the tones of conflict, of tension simmering. And my instincts pick up on that immediately, I don't need a sharper nose to detect it when my eyes do it all, pick up on the fidgets, the stiffness, the little tells in each of them indicate their discomfort.

And I know that we're still gauging the waters of our new dynamic, that we're still learning to adjust and adapt to each other. I also know how much whether or not we actively or consciously allow our instincts to influence our decisions or behaviours, they still hold a level of influence.

But there's also one thing I know for certain.

That it doesn't matter what our hybrid species is, that I don't care if Namjoon's hybrid species is dominant as a predator, that the growl makes my wings flap with the need to defend and protect.

Because he's hurting the pack ambience, he's hurting my new dongsaengs, he's made my bun scared and I never ever want him to feel that. Especially in a place that's meant to be home, that's meant to be a place of safety and comfort for him.

"Namjoon enough. Don't act like a pup who's throwing a tantrum." I say levelly, eyes firm and unrelenting as I meet his, unflinching from the sheer amount of dominance he exudes.

Wolf or not. He's my dongsaeng first.

And though I'd been mentally preparing and bracing myself for an altercation, for his instincts to surge and well up- strong and fierce, slight guilt threads through the overwhelming relief when he drops his head, a sign of submission and defeat, and lets out a small low whine from the back of his throat.

"Sorry hyung, it's not fair of me. I should know better." he mumbles, looking at me with baleful wide eyes and a small frown, utterly chastised and remorseful.

He droops, looking dejected and guilty- my words having snapped him out of whatever deep thought he'd been festering over and seeing the stiff ambience.

The way when it came to defending and protecting each other, we'd automatically and instinctively shuffled towards the ones we loved and lived with.

The clutter of the three kits huddled close, Yoongi holding onto both in some way, Jimin reaching towards his alpha hyung to sooth and calm down. And Kookie, Kookie who still hadn't emerged from behind me.

"I'm sorry. To all of you. Sorry Hoseok-ah for growling when you were just trying to cheer me up, sorry Seokjin hyung for ruining the look of your food that you put your time and effort and love into. Sorry for ruining the atmosphere." He mumbles.

Jimin echoes the sentient, looking at me with wide puppy eyes, as he apologises for attacking his dinner. Apologises to Tae for being a prickly fox.

And though their apologies do diffuse the tension, their scents lightening when they get small genuine smiles in return, forgiveness shining in their eyes.

And then their guilty looks turn to me, more specifically to my bunny baby who's floppy droopy ears are the only thing that can be seen of his face, and the hand that grips my arm clenches tighter, shifting behind me.

"Jungkookie...I'm really sorry, can you please look at us?" Jimin' voice comes through, soft and gentle- the sharpness from his scent finally easing away, gone and no longer attacking my nose. 

And Namjoon looks so devastated by the sight of, or lack thereof, of this pack's youngest packmate, of everyone's dongsaeng hiding...from him.

And I note his ears wilting, tail drooping and smacking against the edge of his chair with a dull thud.

Looking with the most forlorn, dejected kicked-puppy look ever at Kookie's hidden figure.

And there's knowing gazes all around.

No-one had missed the way Kookie seemed to satisfy those instinctual cravings of having someone to protect, whilst it extended to pack, there was just something about Kook that drew out everyone's protective instincts, the need to coddle and coo and gush over. That even though they held back with hesitance, there was always at least one set of fond protective eyes following him as he flitted about the apartment with his energetic rush.

And there hadn't been any way to deny the way there was such an endearingly awkward fumbling connection between the two, Kookie when he wasn't being frightened would look at Namjoon as if he hung the stars in his night sky, silently awed by the strong capable wolf hybrid officer, gushing to me in bed at night how he think Namjoon would give some of the best smothering cuddles.

And Namjoon seemed to want to help Jungkook, even if it ended in disasters at time, and then he'd turn from desperate to please eager pup to chastised and embarrassed wriggly pup, unable to meet Kookie's eyes when he knocked over one of the mugs to get Kookie the juice jug he'd been reaching for, cheeks flushed and shyly moving it forward for him to take unable to meet his shining eyes.

"Jungkook-ah, I'm sorry. I'm a bad hyung...it's just a case we're working on took such an unexpected spin. It's just frustrating me. Makes my wolf instincts feel like I'm failing, but that doesn't mean I should take it out on pack, or vent work frustrations at home." Namjoon says, fiddling with the chopsticks he'd been using as weapons not so long ago.

But his dejected guilty words make the hand gripping my arm ease slightly, feel the brush of Kookie's soft ears against my shoulder before he peeps over, looks at him, at the others and tentatively emerges from his safe spot.

"It's okay Namjoon hyung. You really care about people, it's just a bit...sudden when your scent gets all angry." He says slowly, his hand dropping from my arm to lace my hand, to have that silent support even out of sight.

I squeeze his fingers, shooting him a soft smile when his eyes dart nervously to mine.

He relaxes slightly at the expression on my face, at the way the others are encouragingly smiling at him, eyes filled with nothing but soft affection.

"Again Jungkookie I'm really sorry. It just bothers me to think that sometimes my help isn't wanted, that you can't force aid onto someone. Not if they don't want it." He adds morosely.

Head drooping and Jimin's hand going to rub at the nape of his neck, soothing, placating- but looking equally troubled.

I sigh in understanding, see it dawn on other's faces. As an officer and a wolf hybrid Namjoon wanted to protect and help, and for someone to turn it away was a blatant rejection of both his instinctual needs as well as his role.

No wonder the two seemed so wound up.

"It'll work out Namjoonie. You've just got to give these things time." Yoongi speaks up, voice soft and eyes alert and knowing, flickering with empathy.

But the tightness that appeared on Jimin's jaw, in the clench of his teeth meant that maybe time was something they didn't have.

Time was a luxury that the case wasn't entitled to.

And so I hoped for my two packmates' sake, for whoever was involved in the case that everything was solved, that it would all work out. And quickly too.

-----

I smile when I spot Moonbin entering the café, pausing in my current task of sorting out the till to greet him. And then pause at the slightly dimmer demeanour, walking in with less of his usual buoyance and eagerness, still wide-eyed and bushy-tailed but with a small frown on his lips. As if something's bothering him.

"Hey Binnie!" I greet as he makes his way towards the counter, pushing up the flap so he can pass through and he pauses, turning to smile at me. 

"Hey Jin hyung." He returns the greeting with significantly lower enthusiasm. 

"Is something the matter?" I ask, closing the till to focus on him.

He gives a small shake of his head.

"Just stuff." He says vaguely.

Stuff.

Probably something personal. So I decide not to pry and instead pluck a cookie from one of the trays and hold it out towards him.

"Cheer up Binnie." I say.

His smile brightens as he takes the proffered cookie, physically seeming to cheer up, his eyes shining and tail stiff and pert.

"Thank you hyungie!" he chirps as he heads in.

I watch him leave with a fond smile.

If he can still be cheered up with cookies then thankfully it isn't a big issue.

Though the day he doesn't accept one I'll know something is wrong.

Pack or not.

Moonbin still counts as mine, my dongsaeng and as both his employer and hyung I have a duty to care towards him.

And maybe I'm weak. But I can't stand the sight of a sad dongsaeng.

And if I can help in any way then I will. And besides...there's also something innately satisfying about seeing people eat the food I make and cheer up. That it's able to have that effect.

It means that I can care for them in ways that go beyond instincts.

And that in itself is so gratifying.

But even so I find my eyes drawn again and again to Moonbin during the day, noting that the chirpy squirrel hybrid is a bit subdued, or seems to be lost in thought at times as he's kneading bread dough. And even his usual cheeky grin as he steals the bakery rejects to fill his cheeks with is absent, smiling dully at Kookie who points out that he hasn't swiped the best of them off the tray yet.

Kookie shoots me a worried contemplative glance, his eyes lingering on Binnie's mindless cleaning- having already gone round and wiped down all the tables to a perfect shine.

"Binnie I think that's enough cleaning, why don't you take a break now? I'll make you warm milk." Kookie says walking over to gently grip his hand and draw him to sit down on a seat.

And he sinks into the chair, nodding and allowing Kookie to rush back, listless as he waits, fingers wrapping around the mug when Kookie sets it down.

"Is something worrying you Bin-ah?" Jungkookie asks.

"Just...stuff at home." He murmurs.

Stuff.

Again.

"Is it your pack?" he asks tentatively, being gentle so his prodding doesn't come as forceful prying.

His head slumps.

"It's just...I feel like I'm failing them sometimes. Because if they're hurting why don't they just say? Why do they hide it?" he says, mumbling into the milk but Kookie's ears droop as he hears.

Wilting slightly.

And takes the seat next to him.

"Because sometimes the people who love you try to protect you as much as they can. And that includes hiding their pains." He says softly.

I watch on with pride.

Watch as my beautiful bun helps reassure someone, who voices such thoughtful words and who gives me a sweet tender smile.

Because sometimes love means we try burden the pains and struggles alone.

And sometimes love means you find someone stubborn enough to worm their way in and shoulder them with you.

Just as I had.

Just as Kookie had for me.

Just as we would continue to do for each other.

YOONGI POV:

I enter one of the two empty spare rooms in the apartment, thankful that the boys had been wholly welcoming of letting me convert it into my space, of setting up my equipment there for my radio show.

Jiminie had smiled and nodded immediately but even his quick readiness to agree couldn't be compared to Namjoon's much more memorable unique reaction.

Of freezing with a mouthful of breakfast hovering near his lips, eyes going wide and tail wagging quickly, ears perked up. The spoon sliding out of his grip and splashing the milk from his cereal onto the counter as he'd peered at me.

Beamed at me with his endearing dimpled grin and shyly asked if I'd allow him to help me move my equipment.

The look of awe and wonder as he'd helped was engrained into my mind, I couldn't forget how determined he'd been to handle each equipment carefully, cradling it towards his chest and inching forward with utmost delicacy.

He was a sweet pup.

But there were times when his scent would spike and push me to be on edge.

Just like he had yesterday when he'd growled at Hobi, instincts screaming for me to tug Hobi away and out of harm's away, the reverberating timbre of the sound making me stiffen and tail curl slowly. Because whether or not he was endearing excitable pup most of the time, the sound he'd made then was pure dominance and alpha wolf.

As I'm sitting down, turning the equipment on and setting up before my radio show starts, there's a gentle knock at the door, barely audible and almost swallowed up by the night. But enough that my ears prick up with interest.

And then the door slowly opens, silently swinging inwards to reveal a slightly ruffled looking pyjama-clad Namjoon.

"Can I come in hyung?" he asks, voice soft and tentative..

I nod easily and watch as he enters from behind the door, hands bearing a slightly steaming mug as he walks in, closer towards me.

He holds the mug silently towards me.

"I figured a hot drink might be welcomed. You're going to be talking for the next few hours." He says as I accept it, fingers latching onto the warmth that seeps out but also onto the slightest trail of scent left behind.

"Thank you Namjoon-ah. But why are you up so late? You need to rest." I say softly, setting it down carefully and peering at him.

He fidgets.

"Sit down pup." I say, gesturing to the beanbags and get up to sink beside him on an adjacent bean bag.

It's clear something's bothering him.

Maybe it's still the case.

Maybe something else has happened.

But whatever it is, seeing the sight of a slightly fidgety Namjoon is enough to have me turning to face him, placing a hand on his knee.

His head jerks up to look at me.

"I'm sorry hyung. Yesterday I must've set off a lot of protective instincts when I growled." He says again.

Apologising once more.

Looking just as forlorn.

I sigh.

"Namjoon-ah are you going to keep apologising for that? If we cling onto our small mistakes then we won't ever allow ourselves to advance." I say.

He looks at me with wide eyes. Full of remorse.

"But..." he begins.

I make a small growl low in my throat.

Cutting him off.

"No buts. Do you think Jungkookie wants Tae to keep apologising for trying to hug him from behind? Because he's still startled around us and Tae likes hugs and didn't ask." I say, posing a different scenario to him.

Still remembering how sad Tae had smelt as he'd furiously cuddled me, tugging me into his arms and draping himself over me, eyes glued to Jungkook-ah's nervous jittery frame who'd dived behind Jin hyung and remained there for quite some time.

It wasn't easy.

It wasn't going to be perfect smooth sailing from the beginning.

It would take time to settle with the new dynamics, with each other. With keeping a balance, with growing more and more comfortable.

Even if I did see exactly what Tae was bemoaning about.

Jungkookie did have the fluffiest ears and the sweetest expressions. It made me want to wrap him up in a cuddle and stay there with him.

It made me endeared to just think about how fluffy and cuddly he would be in his shifted form.

"Of course not hyung but that's different. Tae just wanted cuddles. What I did was different." He splutters, voice still quiet so it doesn't disturb everyone in the apartment sleeping.

I smile.

"You were both just following instincts. It's allowed for you to be influenced by them and we learn by the mistakes we make Namjoon-ah." I say softly, giving a small squeeze to his knee.

"No ifs or buts pup. More than anything I don't like the smell of guilt, especially unfounded." I say warningly, smiling when he ducks his head down and nods, his posture loosening.

"Now rest up Namjoon. Or how will our brave strong officer packmate solve cases?" I add, feeling the urge to want to scent such a sleepy soft dongsaeng. To brush my hand across his neck and leave the slightest hint of me.

But I hold back.

Because I'm not sure whether it's crossing a boundary.

Even if I really, really want to.

And then my heart softens further when he asks me softly if he can stay here and listen to me talk as I do my show. That he'll be silent.

And becomes utter mush when I turn the equipment off after my show and find that he's fallen asleep curled up on the beanbag, his body curled up.

And not having the heart to wake him I leave the room to grab a spare blanket or two from the cupboards and then padding back.

I draw a blanket over him, tucking him in carefully, so he doesn't stir from my touches.

And settle into the beanbag beside him, drawing the other blanket over me.

This was the least I could do.

And I couldn't deny that his settled sleepy scent was enticing and calming and just as quick, found myself falling asleep.

And maybe waking to the sight of a sleeping Namjoon curled close, having gravitated towards me during sleep and has his head leaning to rest on my shoulder isn't bad at all. Neither is the way his sleepy scent brushes over my senses and makes me relax, eyes fluttering shut.

Because the warm weight of his body leaning into me, curled near me is soothing and calming. It makes all the difference that it isn't the usual scents of my kits but of a new dongsaeng, seeking out the comfort in his unconsciousness that perhaps being awake he'd have shied from.

Who cares if I get woken by Namjoon's shy awkward fumbling as he tries to move away and ends up slipping off the beanbag with a small thump when Jin hyung knocks on the door.

Who cares that when I blink my eyes open Namjoon has stood up and hovers, eyes averting mine as he folds the blanket in his tight grip, cheeks warm?

Not me.

Not when it's another silent, secretive step towards comfortability with each other. With pack.

(Y/N) POV:

I grit my teeth at the hot drink that waits for me on my office desk when I step back in after my break, Hobi having rushed off to get something.

I walk forward, taking in the almost sour, stale trail of scent, as if the person has purposely left a whiff of them behind, taunting my senses. My hand lifts the cup up, trying to see if there's something wrong with it, if there's anything I can detect from it.

And just as my hand moves it towards the bin, to throw it away Hobi enters with a bright chirp.

"I got you a drink too...oh. You already got one?" he asks, moving forward and nose wrinkling slightly.

"You should open a window. It might get musty." He says, though that's never happened before- there's never been scents clogging up the large office and making it uncomfortable. But even so, it means I'm not the only one's noticed it.

And nod, moving to open a window, to bring a cool sharp gust of wind, that sweeps away the stale scent. I move away to throw the cup in the bin.

It's the fourth in two days.

And always whenever I ask, the receptionist or one of the other staffs mention that it was brought in by one of the centre employees. That there's never been someone unknown and unidentified who brings it in.

I'd even got a mothering cluck from the mother hen hybrid who'd mentioned in passing that it looked like someone was trying to court me. Lips curved up and eyes twinkling from behind her spectacles.

It had been hard to stifle a scoff, because this is ar far as it gets from the sweet courtship rituals that people follow in relation to their instinctual hybrid natures.

Leaving a stuffed toy that represented the trafficker's species, a ruined nest and a threatening note the first day had been bad enough. But it had gotten worse when I'd been getting off shift to find a hot drink waiting for me. And like awful mechanical clockwork, the hot drinks had appeared three times today, always there before I was. As if the trafficker had eyes on me, as if they knew what time my breaks were, what times I'd leave the office. It made me feel paranoid and nervous in my own workplace, a place I'd never felt anything but security and safety and warmth.

And as I waved Hobi off from his shift, being assigned a few night shifts this week, I sink into my chair and groan at the thought of having to stay until dawn. Until the next batch of workers come in.

Min-Jun thankfully had been easy to settle down for the night in the nursery, in an individual room set away from the communal space.

It wasn't hard to miss the look of longing in his eyes as I'd carried him through, at the way the other hybrid children giggled and clung to each other in their pyjamas, or the way they were tackling each other, rolling together and scenting. Or how they clustered together to hear the bedtime stories.

I knew he wanted it. But a small, whispered suggestion to him as I'd asked had him clinging onto me and ducking back into the crook of my neck.

It was something to work towards. To walk in and see Min-Jun one day immersed in the crowd of the hybrid children, easily welcoming and accepting of giving and taking affection.

I knew when he did heal and when he grew out of his shell, grew to overcome his trauma- he'd be one of the cutest, cuddlers of the group. And there was no way any one would be able to deny those soft eyes.

Not when they were wide and filled with such raw genuine emotion. And when even the small things brought such a sweet look of fascination onto his face. Like the time he'd tried a cupcake for the first time. From the box Binnie had given me, peering curiously at the beautifully piped colourful cupcakes and asked what vegetable it was. The look of amazement when the sweetness had hit his tongue and he'd dived onto it, emerging with a splodge of colourful buttercream on his cute nose.

And the memory brings a smile to my face, even as I tug files towards me and begin making notes for how to help some of the other children hybrids I worked with, helped. They weren't all extremely young, there was still a handful of children who were pre-teen hybrids, fussy and moody and instincts raging left and right, but all it took was guidance and really- they just liked cuddling just as much if not more, clinging on with fears that growth would mean they have to suppress their instinctual needs for tactile comfort, for a sense of belonging.

And just as I'm getting lulled into a sense of security, warmth and comfort within my own office- the alarm goes off. A small alarm that pages my office directly.

Which means it's got something to do with one of the hybrids in my care.

And there was only one at the moment that came directly under my whole care.

Min-Jun.

The red flashing sign of the alarm, the sound as it yanks me out of my comfortable, focused haze has me scrabbling to push myself up and away from the beanbags, files pushed aside as I rush out.

Break into a run to get to the nurseries, to where the individual bedrooms are a hive of activity and sound, panicked sobbing and hysterical cries.

And though my instincts well up, demand that I attend and soothe each one of the owners behind the panic and hysterical sobs, I have to focus and drown the sounds out, as their own caregivers rush in, and rush to the end where I'd set a sleeping Min-Jun down hours ago.

The first thing that hits me is a whiff of the same stale sour scent I'd found in my office, accompanying the hot drinks and my nose wrinkles, disgust and fear filling me at it.

And find my heart shattering when I find him tucked under the mound of blankets, hidden from sight- a small figure made out by the way the blankets shake. And when I approach slowly, whispering and talking softly to him, his grip loosens, allowing me to carefully draw the blankets down, his hands still clenching tightly at them and eyes wide and spilling tears, shaking and sobbing as he looks at me.

The fear dissipating slightly and relief filling them.

"...it smells like baddie." He sobs, curling away from the sharp stale scent in the air, hand leaving the blanket to fist into my shirt, to tug me down.

"I know honey, let's get you away from here." I murmur, finding that with each sob my heart splinters, each shard agonising as it drives itself into my body. Pain and hurt and anger. Rage.

That the traffickers seem to have some hold in th hybrid centre, that there's something that either enables them to slip in unidentified or that there's someone within the centre helping them.

And that ugly thought sits low in my stomach, making it twist into knots at the possibility that someone is aiding the traffickers in hurting Min-Jun.

But I don't want to believe it, can't bring myself to.

And tug Min-Jun towards me, cradling him towards me as I step out of the room, eyes falling onto the head caregiver for the nurseries approaching, a look of grim sorrow on his face.

"No-one entered during the night. The kids have all been sleeping comfortably, so I don't know what it is that triggered Min-Jun." the sweet jaguar hybrid, a thirty something year old man, says as he looks at me, arms crossed and looking on worriedly at the way Min-Jun has plastered himself to me.

"I'm taking him with me and I'll set him to sleep in my office, I'll be there until my shift ends." I say.

He nods, immediately taking note of it so there's not an issue when the morning comes.

And Min-Jun remains a stiff clinging distressed cub until we enter my office, relaxing when the door shuts and his wet eyes land on his undisturbed nest, making a wounded sound at the sight of it.

"Mine." He mumbles, looking towards it.

I nod.

"All yours baby. You want to sleep?" I ask, gently kneeling down and trying to set him down but his grip tightens, hands locking around my nest.

"Want you to stay." He mumbles, voice rough and distressed and needy, full of longing.

And when I peer at him, his wide eyes look imploringly at me.

"Want you in nest." He insists, hands trying to tug me down, remaining firmly locked until I nod.

"Let me take my shoes off baby." I murmur, though he doesn't let go and I hurriedly stand up to save the files and tidy them up, toeing off my shoes before carefully stepping into his nest.

And spend the remainder of the night there, curled over Min-Jun who falls asleep at some point when exhaustion and fatigue wins over the need to scent me. And despite how settled I feel at having him safely nestled into me, body curling towards me, his hand still fisting into my shirt I can't shut down. I can't bring myself to sleep, body feeling too keyed-up to relax, to sink down beside him and cuddle him until I sleep too.

My eyes flit nervously to all of the entrances into the office, back and forth and then to Min-Jun again and the clock ticks away, a constant sound of every moment, every instance passing by with me being unable to unwind from my stiff alert posture, even as my body threatens to droop with exhaustion- the burden going beyond physical, a weight boring down on my mind.

The sound of the office door opening at some point yanks me out of my silent internal stream of thoughts, trying to plan my next course of action.

No matter how hard I think I come time and time again to the conclusion of letting Jimin and Namjoon know.

Even if it means being subjected to another conversation I'd rather not have.

"...(Y/N)?" Hobi's voice comes softly, laced with surprise and the gentle almost silent tread of his feet approaching. I still remembered the conversation about it. How it sometimes startled me that I couldn't hear him approach. Since then he'd made his tread more apparent to my ears, using his human part to add to it, tuning out that survival instinct slightly for my benefit.

And despite knowing how grateful and touched I'd been at that, right now all his footsteps remind me is that there's someone who can stay with Min-Jun whilst I go to the station.

"Is everything okay?" he asks crouching in front of my line of vision, brows furrowed as he reads the situation.

And I want to cry, can feel the tears sting the corner of my eyes at the soft genuine concern in his voice, can feel the words well up in my throat. I want to say that it's not, that I don't know what is okay anymore, whether anything is now.

I nod stiffly.

"Fine. Min-Jun wanted me to sleep with him." I say softly, careful not to rouse the sleeping baby bear.

His eyes flicker to him, lips curving up- but there's a flicker of worry that passes through his eyes.

"Must've thrown a tearful tantrum then." He says lightly, having spotted the dried tear tracks.

I want to tell him. More than anything.

Because I know Hobi is genuinely nice. That both my instincts and my rationality agree on this, though they rarely meet eye to eye, that if I tell him he'll help, he'll do his best to.

And yet Namjoon's firm voice comes slithering into mind.

I know you trust the people you work with, but I have no reason to. Tell no-one what we know. The less people that know, the safer Min-Jun will be.

"The fussiest too." I add, dredging my lips up even if they twitch and fail to remain there.

His sharp eyes pin onto me, as if trying to see past me. See through me.

And this time, just this time I wish he could.

And I wish he could help.

(THERE YOU GO! ANOTHER CHAPTER! AND I WONDER WHO IS THIS PERSON MAKING JOONIE ALL FURSTRATED COS THEY DON'T WANT HELP? HMMM....SOUNDS AWFULLY FAMILIAR DON'T YOU THINK?? AND WHY IS BINNIE DOWN?? ALSO...COULD IT BE THE SAME PERSON I WONDER?? TIME WILL TELL...BUT WHO YOU'RE GUESSING IS PROBABLY RIGHT! AND BABY BEAR!! WILL HE EVER CATCH A BREAK?? I SWEAR...THE TRAFFICKERS ARE JUST VILE AND HURTING BOTH HIM AND (Y/N) AND IT'S JUST HEARTBREAKING!! LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS, REACTIONS, EXCITED TO SEE!!  AND I WONDER WHAT THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BRING...WE'RE ACTUALLY ALMOST THERE. THAT PUSH POINT WHERE (Y/N) MEETS ALL OF THEM- SO JUST A LITTLE WHILE LONGER...EYES PEELED AND STAY TUNED LOVELIES! TAKE CARE, STAY SAFE AND ENJOY MY LOVES!)

QUESTION...SOMETHING EMBARASSING YOU'VE LEARNT ABOUT YOURSELF?

Mine is...I had no idea but I send HORRIFIC EMBARASSING messages when sleep drunk, which I didn't know was a thing that applied to me, maybe I hadn't ever been tired enough to that point. And now I refuse to ever show my face. 😖

But also! MMA and MAMA!! The performances were just so stunning and amazing and left me breathless! They even animated Yoongi in 🥺
I just can't! They're just so beautiful and talented.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3