°°.♥-----♥.°°

Jungkook had come to Bighit with big dreams and high hopes, though he didn't expect to achieve anything big. He knew that what he was getting into was very complicated. He had heard about how people become idols in his country and was inspired.

He had initially dreamt of becoming a badminton player when he was younger, but after listening to a song by a popular artist 'G dragon', he was deeply inspired and decided he wanted to be a singer.

He had went for audition after auditions, and the talented boy had been accepted by most of the companies.

But he chose the BigHit Entertainment.

It was a small, unpopular and poor company at that time. He was accepted by even bigger and richer companies, but a certain trainee named Kim Namjoon caught his attention with his excellent rapping skills and he wanted to work with him.

At a young age of thirteen, the boy had to leave his home and settle down in the company and live with other trainees.

He would be lying if he said living there was bad. The people were very kind and patient with him. They gave him vocal and dance lessons. Other trainees helped him too. The CEO was exceptionally nice.

One day, he finally met his inspiration, his idol. Namjoon. His dimples went even more prominent as he showed a welcoming smile and shook hands with a shy and flushed Jungkook.

"I'm so glad you liked my work and feel very respected to work with you."

There were few more people and he started to practice with them. Things were going good, but after a certain event, he realized that he couldn't do anything he wanted, just because they had always been nice to him.

***

His heart raced when Jin dragged him in front of the members who were sitting in the living room, discussing about some song stuff. Now that they were going to debut soon, the pressure had gotten to them and made them stressed. They've started to fight over small things out of frustration.

Jungkook felt a deep pit in his stomach. They already looked tired. He knew he would be dead that day. He looked at Jin with pleading eyes but the oldest just cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.

He felt shivers run down his spine when he saw the cold looks on everyone's faces. He looked back at Jin who gave him a glare as well.

"What happened Hyung?"

Hoseok asked with a frown as he read the angry expression on Jin's face. Jungkook felt tears prick his eyes. It was the first time he did something he knew was very wrong.

Jin gave him a shove from the back, making the younger stumble on his feet a little and crossed his arms, standing behind him.

"Tell them what you did."

All the eyes fell on him. He kept quiet, despite of the older's demand. He was just too scared. Jin had never been angry at him. It made him upset. He was afraid his other hyungs will get angry at him as well.

"Jungkook."

Jin warned. But jungkook didn't speak. He rather gave Jin a pouty look, his pleading eyes glistening with tears.

"If you don't speak, I'll have to."

He couldn't dare to give Jin to speak. He will make it sound much worse.

"I-I had a test t-today and I d-didn't study for it."

He said in a low voice, but everyone was able to hear since the entire room was quiet. Jin raised his eyebrow.

"And?"

"A-And so I b-bunked the class with a f-friend."

He said it all while looking down. Jin didn't force him to say more. But his eyes widened when Jin started speaking about the whole incident himself.

"So, today, when I went to pick him up from school, his class-teacher called me aside and told me all about it. He had a test and the teacher had informed about it two weeks earlier. So even after having so much time, he didn't study. And he had the audacity to bunk the class because he didn't want to give the test. Him and his friend sneaked into the canteen and was having fun eating some damn food as if they deserved the treat. Not only that, when he also happened to meet a teacher who asked them why they were roaming around during class hours, he had the courage to lie saying he wasn't feeling well and got permission from the teacher to take a break."

The thirteen year old bit his lips. The silence was making him even more scared as he hung his head low. He saw from his peripheral vision, Yoongi clenching his fists as he stood up.

His heart dropped when Yoongi grabbed his hand harshly and started to drag him out of the room. He saw Jin's face fall. He may have realized that with Yoongi's temper, he shouldn't have let the boy know about Jungkook's tiny crime.

"Yoongi, calm down."

Jin followed behind the two while Jungkook had already started to sob. The grip on his wrist was tight and it was starting to hurt him. But he didn't struggle to get out of the grip. Yoongi looked too dangerous.

"Hyung please, don't tell me anything now. I need to make him know that what he did was terribly wrong."

Saying that, he went to his room and slammed the door shut. He can hear Jin calling him from outside and few of the other members too. But he didn't care. He was just too angry.

"What were you thinking while doing it?"

He asked in a cold voice. Jungkook kept sobbing. He had never been so scared. Not even of his parents. He couldn't find a good answer to the question either. He had realized how wrong it was for him to bunk the class.

"I'm sorry..."

He apologized, his voice cracking.

"THAT WAS NOT THE ANSWER TO MY DAMN QUESTION!!"

He yelled. Jungkook flinched at the sudden outburst and backed away, eyes glued shut because of fear as his whole body trembled. He can still hear the members calling him and telling him to calm down and knocking on the door, but Yoongi seemed like he couldn't hear any of that.

"Give me your hand."

He demanded in a much calmer voice. Jungkook's eyes widened at what he saw on opening his eyes. Yoongi was holding a scale. Not a wooden one, but a steel one.

He almost broke down. He remembered his mother beating him with that once and he wouldn't curse on his worst enemies to feel that pain.

"H-Hyung no..."

He whispered, taking a step back.

"Give me your freaking HAND!!"

Jungkook still didn't move. He was so scared that to felt like he could pass out. Yoongi was thrilled at the disobedience of the younger. It added more fuel to the fire. He didn't ask anymore. He grabbed the latter's wrist harshly and smacked the scale on his palm without a warning. Hard.

A scream left his throat immediately. His palm burned. It felt like his hand was on fire. He didn't even get the chance to say anything before another smack came down and hit his palm. And then another. He sobbed loudly, trying to free his wrist.

The knocking on the door soon turned to banging. The members have realized what was happening.

"HYUNG WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!"

It was Jimin's voice. He screamed for him to help him. Two more smacks hit his palm. He was starting to hyperventilate because of how much he was crying. He couldn't breath.

It was not even a few minutes but he felt like it was hours. His hyung didn't give him any time to breath or ease the burning on his palm a bit before planting down more hits.

He kept crying loudly, begging for his hyung to stop. He lost count of how many hits he had already taken. The older wouldn't stop no matter how much he said it hurt. Him being beyond terrified wasn't helping either.

Yoongi kept screaming at him and hitting him more, but to him they were just incoherent words. He couldn't focus on what his hyung was saying. All he could focus on was the pain he was feeling.

Suddenly, he felt Yoongi let go of his hand but he couldn't understand why. He heard the sound of the metal scale drop to the floor. He understood that he might be done with being hit. He continued to cry hard. He could feel his whole body sweat and shake. Something rolled down his hand. Some liquid. And it burned really bad.

Right after, he felt a loud thud. His other hyungs have broken the door down. They knew something terribly wrong was happening.

"Oh my-Jungkook!"

It's was none other than his eldest hyung's voice. He saw his figure coming towards him from blurry vision. But he couldn't cooperate with the situation well. He was still mortified. He took a step back when Jin tried to touch him, sobbing harder. But Jin ignored it and held his forearm gently.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Jungkookie."

He shushed him gently, slowly taking tiny steps towards the teenager and hugged him.

"Oh Jungkookie!"

He exclaimed again, gently taking his hand in which Yoongi had whipped him. He buried his face into Jin's chest and continued to sob. His hand was starting to sting really bad.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOONGI?!"

He yelled, making the youngest flinch. It reminded him of angry Yoongi. He wailed loudly and started to wiggle in the hug. Jin loosed it, patting his back.

"Shh, Jungkook. It's okay now, we are here. He can't hurt you any more."

At that point, he really wished he would just pass out. He knew he could make himself sick like that.

"You literally made his hand bleed, hyung!"

Taehyung yelled. Jungkook was his only dongsaeng in the group. He hated to see him cry. He never thought one of his own group member would ever hurt him like that.

"Why-Why would you do that, hyung?"

Namjoon asked his older group member, voice filled with disbelief. Never in a million years had he expected one of them to hit another. Yes, they had often went around giving small smacks and shoves to each other all the time, but they've never hurt anyone out of anger.

Yoongi stood in his place, shocked at what he did. He didn't believe what he just did. He hurt his own group member. His lovely dongsaeng. He punished him hard, ignoring all his crying and pleading. Sure he did something wrong, but it was the worst way he could've taught him that.

"J-Jungkook-"

"Get out. I'll deal with you later."

Jin asked calmly, but he knew what was behind the calm tone. Jin was only quiet when he was angry. Very angry.

"H-Hyung I-"

"Get. Out."

There was no fighting the eldest anymore. With tears in his eyes, he left the room. He didn't glance at the other members. He didn't have the courage to.

He didn't know where to go. He was kicked out of his own room. The only other room he could go to was Jimin's. He was the only one who he hoped wouldn't be angry to find him there.(Let's just pretend they all had their individual rooms.)

He locked the door and sat down right beside the door step and started to weep softly. He remembered the younger's pained face as he hit him. He remembered his screams.

He couldn't tolerate the thought. How did he managed to whip him at that time? He realized how traumatized the boy would be. The only times he had seen him cry was when he missed his family or was too tired from company and school work altogether.

He remembered the moment he finally realized what he was doing. When he whipped his palm so hard that it started to bleed. The metal scale had managed to cut through his skin.

He realized that he didn't punish the boy. He abused him.

He harshly wiped away a tear that rolled down his eye. He wasn't the one to suffer, then why was he crying? The poor boy was now scared of him. That was the last thing he wanted.

He couldn't even go to apologize now. He let the sorrow swallow him as he buried his face into his knees and continued to weep.

***

Jin rocked the youngest back and forth on his lap, both seated down on the floor. His sobs had dialed down to sniffles. He looked at his bloody band. The cut was a bit long in length, but it wasn't too deep. It would heal in a few weeks.

"Let's get it cleaned, okay?"

He didn't reply. The older didn't mind, but helped him get up on his feet and led him to the bathroom. He whimpered everytime his wound was touched, but Jin knew he needed to get it cleaned.

He applied the antiseptic cream on the wound and bandaged it. Jimin softly kissed his forehead.

"Don't cry anymore now. You're fine."

Jungkook just nodded as Jimin wiped the rest of his tears. He helped the boy sit on the bed, totally babying him.

"You must be very tired and hungry. Wait-I'll bring you some food."

Saying that, he was about to leave. But Jungkook stopped him by grabbing his shirt. When he turned to see what the youngest wanted, he saw fresh tears glistening in his eyes. His heart shattered all over again.

"A-are you still a-angry at m-me?"

Jimin flashed the boy a reassuring smile and kneeled down in front of him, taking his uninjured hand and holding it tight.

"Nope. Not at all. Yes, I'm a bit disappointed that you bunked your class and lied to a teacher, but that gives nobody the right hit you like that. I'm way more disappointed in Yoongi hyung than you."

He chirped in a soft and gentle voice. Jimin might be just fifteen, but he's much more matured and understanding than other fifteen year olds. There is something about him that is just so pleasant.

"Now stop crying. Gosh-"

He pouted, wiping away the tears in his younger brother's eyes before they could fall. He couldn't imagine how terrified he must have been. A little scolding would have just been okay. Yoongi went too far.

Speaking of Yoongi, he wondered what he was doing.

"I'll go get him some food. Jimin, go back to your room and complete your homework. We'll continue the discussion for our debut song later."

"Okay hyung."

He got up from the floor and gave Jungkook's cheeks a small pinch and left the room.

He was confused when he found the door to his room closed. He turned the knob, but found it to be locked from the inside. He swiftly fished out his keys from his pant's pocket and wiggled it in the key hole.(ahem-)

The door opened with a creak. And he saw it. He couldn't imagine how it was possible for his heart to break into even smaller pieces. Yes. He was mad at his hyung. But after all, he was his hyung. The man who stood beside him during bad days, who taught him to how to take decisions, took care of him despite his vicious exterior.

Yoongi heard the sound of the door and shot his head up. Jimin looked away the moment thier eyes met and started to do what he came there for, taking out his books and sat down on the bed with them.

Yoongi slowly stood up and wiped his tears.

"I-Is he o-okay?"

His voice shook more than he expected it to. Jimin didn't look at him, not because he was angry, but because he couldn't bear to see him cry.

"Physically pretty okay."

The later didn't ask anymore questions and was about to leave the room silently when Jimin stopped him.

"Don't go to him. He's scared and exhausted right now."

Yoongi felt more tears chock his throat as he left the room. Where will he keep all of the guilt? He decided he would stay alone at the studio. Maybe that would make everyone happy. Jungkook wouldn't have to live in the dorm, constantly having a fear of meeting him.

***

"What now, Jungkook?"

Jin asked in a little frustrated way as he saw the food he brought for Jungkook lying still on the bedside table, completely untouched.

"I-Is Yoongi hyung outside?"

Jin sighed. It hurt his heart to know that the youngest was now scared of one of them. He could predict the reason of Yoongi's outburst, but he decided not to speak anything about it at that time. He sat down beside the younger boy.

"No, he's not. Why would you ask?"

The youngest shook his head and looked back down. Just then, Jin's phone rang. The youngest peeked over. It was their CEO. Why would he call at that hour? Jin picked up the call and spoke in a formal tone.

"Yes nim?"

"Has Yoongi reached there?"

"Yoongi... Actually, talking about him, I haven't seen him in a while. Did he go somewhere?"

"I found him crying alone in his studio and made him say what had happened."

Jin went silent again and looked at Jungkook, who gave him a pouty look. He wasn't ready to face Yoongi just yet.

"Yes nim, we had a kind of heated argument."

"I've told him to apologize to Jungkook. But please, don't be harsh on him. I'd rather advice you to let them sort things out alone. He should be there in a few minutes."

"Okay nim, I'll make sure of that."

The CEO hung up the phone. He sighed mentally and turned to Jungkook. It's going to take a lot of nerve to make him talk with Yoongi.

"Jungkookie-"

"I don't want to talk to Yoongi hyung!"

"Kook, listen-"

"No! I don't want to-"

"Jungkook."

He glared at the teenager, but his eyes immediately soften at his expression. He looked like he would start crying again at any moment.

"Hyung please! Not now! I don't want to be left alone with him!"

Jungkook begged, joining his hands tight in front of the oldest, taking him aback. He couldn't believe Jungkook was begging him for something. It wasn't a plead, he was begging him. He had never begged anyone for anything. As the youngest trainee, he was the most pampered and got anything he wanted.

"Oh, Jungkook, see-"

He hugged the sad boy.

"Yoongi just wants to apologize. He is very upset with himself. Bang PD-nim said he found him crying in the studio alone and said he regretted what he did. He begged PD-nim to tell us to give him a chance. But we will let you consider it since you were the one who's hurt by him. Would you let him?"

Jungkook looked at Jin in the eyes that pleaded him to say yes.

"Okay..."

He had no more choice. Jin smiled to him. He said he wasn't hungry. Jin didn't argue. He took his food and left. A few minute passed by, him thinking what had happened that day.

Suddenly, a warm hand held his shoulder. He looked up to find Jin smiling at him. Another figure caught his attention. It was Yoongi. Standing at the door step. His eyes were bloodshot, but he displayed a faint smile for the younger, but it wasn't enough to convince him. He looked back at Jin and the elder nodded.

"We'll be right outside, hmm?"

The addressed boy nodded. Jin gave Yoongi a small shove and a glare as he left the two alone inside the room. A few seconds of an awkward silence passed by, but then, Yoongi cleared his throat.

"Jungkook..."

"I'm sorry, hyung. I promise, I'll never do it again!"

He exclaimed in a whisper while looking down and nibbling with the hem of his shirt. He couldn't predict Yoongi's actions at that time and was still pretty spooked out. His mother never hit him to the point to make his wounds bleed.

He remembered the time when he was beaten by a wooden scale by his mother and later when she saw the bruises on his arms, she burst into tears that instant.

Yoongi seemed the same, but he couldn't give the aura his mother did.

"No, I'm sorry."

Yoongi's voice sounded pained. Oh, what had he done? Jungkook would hate him. Just why can't he control his anger?

"I was wrong. I'm so sorry, I couldn't control m-myself, I just got so a-angry-"

A sob left his mouth. He could give a proper reason to hit him. Nothing can justify hitting him.

"I got r-really angry at you f-for bunking a class and lying to the teacher b-because I-I wanted to to s-study w-well. I-I never got to s-study well even th-though I wanted t-to."

He wiped away the tears harshly as he felt some anger rise up inside him again, not towards Jungkook, but at the situation which prevented him from having a normal life as a child. He was angry at how the financial stability of his family didn't allow him and his brother to get proper education.

"That's why I g-got so angry when I found o-out that even though you were getting the f-facility, you were not using it p-properly."

Jungkook sat quietly at the edge of his bed, biting his lips and hearing his hyung weep. He knew it was not his hyung's fault. Yoongi had reasons to be angry.

He was wrong.

He deserved it.

He toppled down the bed and hugged the older, his own tears dripping down his face. He regretted what he did at school. He was supposed to be the one to get hit by the karma and suffer. But rather, he got all pampered and babied while everyone blamed Yoongi for doing something he should've done.

"I'm sorry, I deserved it."

***

Jin wrapped a fresh bandage around his palm, telling him to be careful with it at school. It's been about a week since the incident and his wound was healing well.

The youngest and second oldest had gotten along well together. The kid had almost gotten back to his usual playful self.

Keyword: almost.

He's still a little spooked out because of the incident. He feels his heart race whenever Yoongi gets angry.

The members had been very careful since the incident, about how they speak to him. They did not want to trigger those memories. A thing that broke the older members' hearts the most was how the youngest was now terrified of closed rooms. The members always had to keep doors open or he would start crying and panicking. They considered taking him for counselling, because of how badly he was scared of of locked rooms.

Yoongi was heartbroken too, knowing he was the cause to Jungkook's such trauma. He thought, maybe if he would pamper him, everything will be good. But he was wrong. That afternoon had put such affect on him that he was not able to get over it.

He did not think the members would need to consider counselling as an option. Part of him was scared, both for himself and Jungkook.

What if Jungkook's fear of closed spaces becomes a phobia?

What if he becomes permanently scared of him?

What if he gets in legal trouble because of the damage he had caused to the younger?

Jungkook did agree with counselling.

"If I get better, then I'm down for it."

He said. He did not like how the door being shut gave him chills and made his heart race. He loved his Yoongi hyung and didn't want to be scared of him.

And so they went for it. On first day of counselling, the members waited outside while Jungkook talked with his doctor. And he came out with cheeks stained with tears. He immediately lunged for Jin. The doctor came out of his chamber too and gestured the rest of the members inside his chamber.

"You should've brought him a little earlier, but I've got this."

He prescribed a medicine for Jungkook and said the dosage will be decreased with time, but he has to take it no matter what.

"Make sure you don't leave him inside closed rooms or yell at him for a while. Make sure he's comfortable at all situations. And don't bring up anything related to his traumatic experience. And also, don't treat him any different than you used to before the incident. "

He gave some more tips and told them the schedules for his appointment. He looked at Yoongi and warned him that if something like that happened again, he'd have to file a report against him for child abuse. Yoongi assured him that he would never do anything like that to anyone again.

Days went by. In the first month, they had take Jungkook there every week. As he started to show signs of improvement, the appointments turned from once a week to once a month.

It had been four months and his fear was almost completely gone. He could stay in locked rooms for a surprisingly long time. His doctor had also decreased the dosage of his medicine, but said that he couldn't stop taking it until he says so, or he may deteriorate again.

But the members and the youngest was still happy with the progress. Now even if the incident accidently slips out in a conversation, Jungkook never reacts to it badly.

As the dorm was slowly going back to normal, Hoseok mentioned about Yoongi's bedroom door that they had broken down four months ago, was still broken.

Yoongi had being grumbling over that. The members laughed at him, promising to get him a new one soon.

It was a school day again, and of course the youngest wouldn't wake up without making a fuss. Nobody would say he was the same person as four months ago. The fact that he even pulled a prank on Yoongi, was something that absolutely surprised the members. He planned and executed it all by himself.

As Jin dropped him off at the school and came back home, Taehyung confronted him with a cheeky smile.

"Hyung, it's been so long since we have ever pulled a prank on Jungkookie and you know what? We have the perfect idea for it!"

Jin had agreed without even knowing the plan. It didn't matter if he was the eldest, he was still very young, with a mind of a mischievous child.

However, when he got to know about the plan, he couldn't help but hesitate. The younger members wanted to pull a silent treatment prank on the youngest and make him think he did something wrong.They would be rude to him when he whines. But they promised to continue it for just a day.

"Don't you think it's going to be a bit too harsh? He hates being ignore."

"That's the point!"

The oldest sighed. He had been out-voted. He had to play along with his members. The members pointed out that it could be a good way to get back at him for the prank he pulled at Yoongi the previous day.

"But promise me that we'll stop once he starts looking upset."

And so was promised. They knew Jungkook would get upset pretty soon after the start of the prank and would start whining.

Six hours passed by quickly. It was now time to bring the youngest back from school. All of them had finished off their schedules early and were preparing to make the prank look as realistic as possible.

As soon as Jin reached his school, he put on a cold expression. Jungkook came, his shorts dirty as always, a mischievous smile curving up to his eyes. But the oldest didn't smile back. He grabbed his hand a little tight and dragged him into the car.

Confused by the behavior, he asked the oldest in a interrogative and curious tone of voice.

"Hyung, what's wrong?"

Silence. He received silence as a reply. His heart started to race. What could've he have done wrong? He didn't cause any trouble at school since the studio, he remembered. He didn't touch anyone's laptop, he remembered.

"Did I do something wrong, hyung?"

The oldest was still silent. He was actually enjoying to see Jungkook freak out. He was so cute when he was scared. His doe eyes went even bigger as he stared at the eldest, a small pout sitting on his lips.

The oldest glanced at the youngest, with a look of cold command, making the him quietly slump back on the seat.

"I'm sorry, hyung."

Aww!

The older suppressed the urge to hug the youngest. The journey was short and soon they reached home. Jin accidentally slammed the door of the car shut a bit too loudly, making the youngest flinch. He bit his lips and timidly followed the oldest inside the dorm.

He saw Taehyung and Jimin on the couch, cuddling with each other, but they looked serious while watching some video on a phone. He concluded that they may have missed school for practice.

"Hyung, did something happen?"

It was the first thing the youngest said as he approached them, more intimidated by the serious expressions. But he was completely ignored. Now he was getting annoyed. He huffed and went to hold Jimin's hand, but his hand was yanked away, barely had it touch the latter.

The youngest pouted even more aggressively.

"Why aren't you talking to me?"

He whined and sat with his legs crossed on the couch beside the duo.

"Hyung!"

He called for again. Then huffed on getting ignored yet again.

"Fine! Don't talk to me! I'm sorry if I did something wrong!"

With that, he stomped off to his room and slammed the door shut. Taehyung and Jimin looked at each other, then bursted out laughing.

"You should've just seen his face!"

Exclaimed Taehyung while laughing. Jimin nodded in agreement. The youngest's whiny look was the cutest. And then they could later even tease him about whining like a toddler, to which he would whine more.

They had previously pulled the same prank on Jungkook and it had made him sulk for days after.

However, Jungkook didn't think of it the same way as he did before.

***

The members decided to stop. It's been two hours that Jungkook had locked himself inside his room. They haven't heard a word from him since.

All the members made their way to his room. Yoongi had a set of extra keys to all of their rooms. It stays with Yoongi since according to the members, he's the most responsible one and he could keep them safe.

They entered Jungkook's room. The lights were off. They almost couldn't find him, until they heard a soft noise. A sob.

They were stunt. They figured a dark, shaky figure at the edge of the bed. They didn't intend to make him cry. They had pulled similar pranks before but Jungkook never cried.

Yoongi quickly put on the lights, making the smaller figure flinch. He gave his eyes a quick wipe as the members came to him.

"Jungkook."

Yoongi confronted him in a monotonous voice. He was about to continue, but was cut off by Jungkook putting his hand forward, in front of him.

The second oldest stared with confusion but the youngest already had tears falling from the corner of his eyes.

"What do you want?"

The second oldest asked.

"M-My punishment."

His voice cracked and his hands shook. The latter's pupils went wide, trying to comprehend what the youngest wants him to do.

He stood still. The members stood still. It made him even more upset.

"Let's just get over with it, Please?"

He begged, his figure shaking as he tried to suppress his sobs and take his punishment without fussing around too much, but he couldn't he help but feel extremely scared.

The second oldest felt tears pricking his own eyes.

He wants me to hit him..?

Before he could react anymore, Hoseok hurried to them and embraced the youngest.

"I'm really sorry!"

He whispered and burst into loud wails. Hoseok cuddled him close to his chest and eyed the members, getting increasingly concerned.

"I really don't know what I did wrong! I'm not trying to escape punishment, I don't-"

Hoseok shoved his head in his chest, shushing him and rocking him from side to side.

"You did nothing wrong, Jungkook-ah. It was just a prank. We're so sorry."

Taehyung came and hugged the crying boy as well.

"It's my fault. I suggested it. I thought it would be fun. We didn't mean to make you c-cry."

His own voice cracked, tears heard prominently in them. He felt terrible. The other members did too. They didn't expect a reaction like this.

The boy had started to calm down, having being reassured he did nothing wrong. The members surrounded him, caressing his hair and patting his back, their hearts flooding with guilt. Jin took his healing hand and kissed the knuckles.

"We promise, we'll not do that again."

The later nodded, drying his tears with a tissue that Jimin happened to bring for him. Taehyung hugged him from behind and rested his head on Jungkook's, pouting.

"I'm sorry. I forced them to do it."

"Don't beat yourself up for that Tae, we all agreed on this."

"But I gave the idea."

"It's okay."

Jungkook said and gave them a small smile. His hyungs were not angry at him, so it didn't matter anymore.

"Let's go. You must be hungry-Gosh, this prank-I didn't give you any food after you came from school."

Jin dragged the kid to the dinning room and gave him food, which he finished happily. Jungkook was then sent away to his room for resting.

The oldest sighed heavily and went downstairs, and to the garden. After everything that happened in that week, he felt needed some time and fresh air to refresh himself.

What he didn't expect was the figure of the second oldest, hunch down with his face in his hands and his elbows resting on the railings.

He carefully moved towards the boy silently, perking his ears up and observing what he was doing.

Sniffles.

Huh?

He heard sniffles. All of a sudden, the second oldest was crying? Why? He wondered if he should leave him alone or comfort him.

He stood there for a minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Four minutes. The sniffles didn't seem reduce. He approached the younger, standing beside him and put his arm around the latter's shoulder. Yoongi didn't flinch. Jin slowly wrapped both of his arms around him and hugged him. Yoongi started to sob.

"What's the reason for you sadness?"

Jin asked in quite a formal tone. Yoongi hugged him back, trying to suppress his sobs as he replied.

"I-I'm a monster, hyung!"

Another sob left his mouth immediately after. Jin felt his heart drop to his stomach.

"No, you're not! Why would you think something like that?"

He rubbed the boy's back gently, like how he likes it when he's feeling down. Yoongi melted more in the hug, letting out whatever he's thinking about.

"I always h-hurt him, hyung!"

He cried. Jin felt his heart break into further pieces. He knew how much the later regretted hitting the youngest and how much it breaks him to know that his loving maknae is scared of him.

"I understand where you're coming from."

He paused for a bit, biting his lips.

"But you should have shared with any of us."

"D-Didn't wanna hold on."

"But you clearly did."

It made him cry even harder. The oldest sighed mentally and let his younger weep on his shoulder for a bit longer. No words, just a warm hand on his head, figures playing with the strains of his hair.

"I'm sorry I just-I swear I tried, I'm just so-"

The later shushed him, knowing he isn't in the right state of mind at that time. He had seen how much Yoongi loved to learn. He had seen how he would sometimes pick up Jimin or Taehyung or Jungkook's books from their rooms and read them to pass time. He had seen how much he loved to help his maknae's out with their school work and it always surprised the members how good he was in them, despite never learning them himself.

"You can go back to studying anytime you want to."

Jin suggested, breaking the hug and looked at the younger. He wiped his eyes and gave a sniff for the last time.

"B-But where will I get the money f-from?"

"Me."

He answered simply, as if it was nothing for him to pay for another entire damn person's education. After all, he belonged to a quite rich family.

"H-Hyung-"

"Actually, my mom would love it!"

Jin suddenly squeaked, making the later confused. He saw Yoongi's confused look and laughed.

"I'm ringing her right now."

Jin vanished to his room immediately. Yoongi wanted to deny, but he also couldn't deny how happy he would be to have a normal life like other children, with friends and a bit of naughtiness. School is something everyone misses once they leave it. It was the same for Yoongi. He wanted to feel how sitting in a class feels like. He wanted to listen to boring lectures again. He wanted to play basketball with other students again.

Thank fully for him, Jin's parents agreed at once. It was decided that he would start from 10th grade. Namjoon said he was smart enough to skip a few classes of which he didn't attend. He would be a bit older than the other students as he was already seventeen, but that doesn't matter. They could fake his age to be younger. His short height wouldn't make it suspicious either.

He was admitted at Hanlim school. A school in Seoul with high reputation. On top of that, the entire maknae line was shifted there after they settled in Seoul and into the company.(I'm legit making random sh*t up at this point-)

Jimin and Taehyung were on cloud nine with that news. They were going to be in the same class as their hyung! Jungkook had secretly sneaked in his phone and thanked Jin's mother. The older lady laughed and talked about how much she loved all the six friends of her son.

In a week, Yoongi was taken to the school for the admission. The boy almost broke down crying when he got his own books. The boys laughed at first, then comforted him.

The two oldest of the maknae line promised to help his hyung if needed. The dorm was filled with happiness, laughter and smiles all day.

Until a day when it seemed awfully quiet.

They had figured out a problem at once. Jungkook was being to quiet and sad. The members at once gave Yoongi suspicious eyes. That had made him upset and grumpy. He was sure he had nothing to do with the youngest's sadness this time.

And so he took things in his hands and decided he would talk with the younger at night when everyone else had gone to bed.

He didn't fail to notice how quiet and whinny and irritable he was at dinner later that day. And he went straight off to his room after it.

"Who ever made him like that must own up to it."

Jin said specifically to not one. But Yoongi knew it was directed to him. He didn't response though. Within another hour, all the members were settled in their rooms. Yoongi did it too, but he didn't go to bed. Instead, he waited for sometime, to make sure he was good to go.

"What's wrong with you?"

Was the first thing Yoongi asked as the youngest opened the door to his knocking. Confused, the latter asked.

"What? What would be wrong with me?"

His voice sounded a bit annoyed, but he clearly didn't want to show it. Yoongi tried to search in his eyes.

"Did something happen at school today?"

"No?"

"Fought with a friend?"

"No."

"Practice went bad?"

"Gosh-No!"

"Then what?!"

He whisper screamed, shutting the younger down. The second oldest was clearly annoyed, and more upset with his behaviour.

"Everytime it's something involving you being upset, I get blamed and honestly, it hurts!"

He admitted with a frown. The youngest sighed and went back to his bed, laying down with his hands and legs spread to take out the entire space in it.

"I'm sorry. It's just-it's my eomma's birthday today and I m-miss her. I miss all of them. I couldn't help but feel sad. I'm sorry for bothering all of you."

He said and his eyes glistened instantly after. He turned to his side, burying his face on his side pillow. The older didn't know if the younger was crying or not. But he did what he felt was right. He snuck up on the bed beside him and hugged him.

He didn't blame Jungkook to feel like that. He was still a little kid and needed his parents' love and care. Even though they can call them anytime they want, they aren't allowed to visit them unless it's a vacation.

It reminds him of his own parents. No matter how upset he is at them for not letting him study, they are still his parents and he loved them very dearly. His parents had almost cut off relationship with him since he didn't pursue what they wanted him to.

"Did you wish her?"

A nod.

"If you miss her so much, you can FaceTime her."

"I did! I want to meet her in person!"

He raised his head up and looked at the older. Yoongi saw the sorrow on his face and sighed.

"I'll figure something for you."

"What will you do? PD-nim wouldn't let me see my family unless we get a vacation or something!"

Yoongi sighed, hugging him again. He hated to see the younger sad.

"I'll manage it."

He spoke all of the sudden. Jungkook pushed him away.

"Now what can you do?"

"I promise, I'll figure something out."

He shoved his head back into Yoongi's chest. Yoongi slowly started to caress the back of his head while thinking about all the events that had taken place recently. His thoughts went back to the time he had hurt the little boy he was holding at that time.

"Jungkook?"

A hum was heard as a respond.

"I'm sorry."

The apology sounded sincere. A little too much sincere. Jungkook looked at him with a confused expression, as if the older had gone crazy. But Yoongi didn't look at him in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for everything I have done wrong to you. I've realized I never apologized to you properly. I thought about it a lot and it only made me feel more guilty. I deeply regret hurting you and I can promise it would not happen again. Never."

The youngest kept quiet. He knew his hyung had more to spill and he also knew that silence makes him speak.
And he was right.

"I was actually scared. What if we weren't able to debut? Our lives would be ruined. You are still young. I wanted you to study well so that even if we fail to make our debut, you would be able to get something good out of your life."

He didn't dare to look at the youngest. That's how guilty he felt.

"I don't know if you understand or not. I'm genuinely sorry. It was a horrible thing of me to do. I thought what I was doing would make you understand how wrong what you did was. But it was me who was wrong. I never wanted to hurt you to teach you. I didn't want you to be sacred of me. I want you to treat me like your brother. Like the way you did before that incident. I'd be really happy if you eased up a bit more around me. I want to be a good hyung. The one who could be looked at the eyes with adoration, not the eyes with fear or disgust."

He paused to suck in a deep and slow breath while biting his bottom lip. Then released it heavily and let go of the youngest, turning his back to him.

"I'm sorry I failed you."

Well, that may be too much for Jungkook to take in. He didn't know what to say. Of course, he doesn't think his hyung failed him, but he couldn't find the right words to tell him that.

"You didn't fail me, hyung."

He spoke at last, even though he wasn't sure if Yoongi was listening to him or not.

"I've forgiven you long ago. I don't know if you could call it a mistake or not, but I know what you did was for my own good. I know you would never hurt me intentionally, you just wanted the best for me. And just because you hit me once, doesn't mean you don't love me, I'm sure. It's just-leave it. I just want you to know that you never failed me and that I still love you the same."

A spindly arm wrapped itself around the older's waist. It made him smile. The younger forgave him and that's all that matter to him.

"Hyung."

Jungkook spoke that's the softest voice he had ever used.

"I love you."

Soon after saying that, he felt the embarrassment kick in and his cheeks flush up. He shoved his face on the older's back.

"I hope you don't think otherwise."

He felt the older turn his way and pull him even closer, kissing the top of his head.

"You have no idea how much I love you."

He kissed his forehead again. The younger released a short giggle.

"Hyung."

"Mhmm?"

"Can you...stay here tonight?"

Yoongi smiled at the boy's request and pulled up the duvet on both of them. He hugged his hyung almost immediately. Yoongi patted his head till the youngest fell asleep in his arms.

***

"Yoongi, I don't think you're understanding. It's not possible!"

The manager sighed, taking off his glasses and slumped down on his chair, an annoyed expression on his face. Yoongi bit his lips in nervousness, but was determined to get his way.

"Nim, Please. Just a few days. The kid misses his family very much. For god sake, he is just thirteen!"

The older man ran his figures through his hair as he stared the the pile of files on his desk.

"If he goes away for a few days, who will complete his part of the work? Your debut literally depends on how you present yourself to the public!"

The manager scolded. His anger was obvious. He had been stressed with the boys' debut himself. He couldn't give them a day off just like that. Their schedule will be hampered.

"Nim, I will help him complete his work after he comes back. I've always been helping him, so I know the way he thinks. And I promise he'll work harder when he comes back. I know him. He just needs his family for sometime. He's a very hardworking kid."

The manager stayed silent as he looked through some files while giving the boy a cold expression. Yoongi sucked in a shaky breath and spoke.

"Nim. It's the most I can do to apologize to him. To give him what he craves for. And you're the only one who can help me."

The manager halted his moves and looked at the younger boy who had given him the most pleading expression ever, then sighed and put his pen down.

***

"YOONGI HYUNG!!!!"

A kid came running across the living room to his addressed hyung's room and before the older could turn to him, he crushed the boy into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh my, Jungkookie, what happened?"

The kid giggled and let go of the hug, and staring at the older with wide, shinny eyes.

"Hyung! PD-nim just called me and said you told him to give me some days off to go see my family and guess what?"

Yoongi found himself smile as he asked the boy, like even though he already knew about it.

"What?"

"He gave me three days off!"

He said, exaggerating his words by putting up three fingers. The older laughed.

"That's great! Do you want me to drop you off today?"

The boy nodded aggressively with a little jump, excited to see his family. He hugged the older again.

"Thank you, hyung!"

The boy exclaimed with a fond tone and then smooched a kiss on the older's cheek. Yoongi dramatically made a cringing face.

"Eww. Don't do that!"

He said, rubbing his cheek. Jungkook squealed in a fit of laughter. Yoongi smiled in his mind.

That's what I like to hear! His laugh. Not his sobs!

"I love you, hyung!"

He exclaimed, kissing the older's cheek again to tease him. But this time, Yoongi smiled back.

"Yeah, I love you too."

[END~~]

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