Yoongi was sure that Jungkook's nervous ramblings to himself meant that he was far more upset than he was letting on. The younger had been been playing with his jacket sleeves since the car had been started and shortly after had begun talking to himself and was still slightly doing it now that they had left the car. Yoongi couldn't be sure, but he sensed there was more than just anxiety in those words. It was honestly concerning him. He hadn't seen Jungkook this freaked out since that night in his apartment. 

They had parked the car in a parking garage, that Yoongi hoped was safer than it looked, just a few yards away from the apartment building. Just by doing a drive by of the area, Yoongi could tell that there really was no hope for the building. Construction teams had already made their way into the area and were waiting for the few residents that were still lurking around the place to leave. The windows showed a hollow shell of what the building used to be. Dark interior, dark exterior. Like the water had drowned not only the building but it's soul too. 

Yoongi glanced over at Jungkook. The boy was whispering to himself a bit less than before and the mint haired was positive that his jacket sleeves were going to be torn off. It concerned Yoongi further that the boy was this distressed over his apartment being flooded. Sure, he would panic himself but not to this extent. It was like the brunette was scared of what was going to happen to him after the apartment was cleared. Yoongi pulled Jungkook's hand away from his sleeve and held it comfortingly in his own. The brunette, startled out of his previous action, looked at their hands before looking into the older's eyes and smiling. 

"It'll be okay." Yoongi said.

Jungkook nodded before turning back to looking at the sidewalk and swinging their entangled hands lightly.

Yoongi's smile became bigger as he felt their hands swaying back and forth. It gave Yoongi a warm feeling to know that Jungkook could be comforted by something as small as him holding his hand. It gave him a warm feeling in general just to be holding the younger's hand. It was a safe and cozy feeling, like nothing could ever disturb them. There was just a peace that rested in their fingers that had molded together like they were made to do exactly that. The way their hands moved back and forth made Yoongi feel like a kid. One that took comfort in knowing that the person they loved was holding their hand and had no intent to let go unless they had to. Even then, they'd always find their way back to each other. 

There was only one other time when Yoongi could remember feeling this way, and that's when he was an actual kid. Still young enough to be naive of how the world worked. He might've been too young to notice that his parent's marriage wasn't as happy as it should've been, but that's beside the point, at least for the moment. He could remember his hair touching the bottom of his eyebrows, his Mom having promised to cut it when they returned home later in the afternoon. It was still black, not having been touched by bleach yet like it would later in life. He could slightly remember that his hair had been cut in a sort of bowl cut up until he was thirteen and was tired of being teased for the old fashioned do. At one point in time, he had been obsessed with overalls with patterns printed on it and had been wearing one at the time, meaning he had to have been at most eight. He smiled a lot more as a kid, something he wished could've transferred to his adult years. He wished he could be that again, sometimes. A little boy with black hair and blue overalls with white stripes that skipped along happily with his mother and father's hand holding his own. 

His mother looked a lot less tired then. She smiled more as well. Maybe it was just a cover up. Maybe she was just covering up her pain from all the nights she knew that Yoongi's father was spent with someone else. She knew it, but he didn't know that. Which is why they walked together. Sometimes, Yoongi thought that all the time they spent together near the end was his mother trying to convince his father that he had something here and that they were all he needed. His father was just happy to have attention. That's all he was really there for, Yoongi supposed. 

His mother had been dressed in a white sundress with flowers spotting it. The dress had always looked good on her, though she had stopped wearing it over the years. Her hair had been down and trailed down her back to her upper waist. One of her jobs had required her to cut her hair down and wear it up and it had stuck at home as well. Her dress had been matched with her signature pair of tennis shoes, something that had attracted his father in the first place. Her ability to look so good in a dress yet pair it with tennis shoes and still look beautiful was attractive according to his male parent. 

His Dad had worn a button down shirt with the top button left undone. He had on a pair of tan cargo pants that contained his keys, cellphone, tissues, wallet, and a lot his mother's things that she refused to carry herself. He couldn't ever remember his father not wearing a pair of fancy shoes that you could easily match with a suit. His Dad hated anything that involved him getting knee deep in dirt or sweat so he didn't really need a pair of tennis shoes. Their garden wound up swarming with weeds as both of his parents considered themselves to lack a green thumb, something that Yoongi had gotten through genetics. The neighbors, both people who only knew of a clean garden, wound up getting so disgusted by the yard, that they cleaned it up themselves. His mother gave them enough food to last them a year as thanks. 

They had walked up and down the sidewalks in the (safer) outskirts of Seoul, near the jewelry shop his mother had brought him in years later. A peaceful environment to match a seemingly peaceful moment. Bright cloudless sky with green trees swaying in the breeze. The occasional couple would pass by and a car or two drove down the road. Birds flew across the sky and squirrels skittered passed on the few grass covered patches that they passed. Both of his hands were held tightly on either side by his Mom and Dad. As happy as can be.

The only difference between then and now was that the feeling the two had were genuine, at least to the mint haired they were, and not faked to make one happy. He was sure that if Namjoon were here as well, the feeling would heighten. He had formed a high liking for the two younger males. A bit too high of a liking if you were to ask him. He couldn't imagine a day in his life without them and even if he could, it all seemed so desolate. Like he'd go back to days full of constant worry over whether time was moving too fast. He wanted them by his side for as long as he could keep them there, which he hoped would be forever.

"Hyung." Jungkook said on the verge of tears as he looked up at the construction surrounded apartment building.

Yoongi bit his lip and rubbed Jungkook's hand, "It'll be okay, Kook, I'm here with you."

Jungkook looked at him, his eyes glistening, before nodding lightly.

"Alright," Yoongi pointed to a man in a construction uniform standing near the stairs, "He looks like someone that we need to talk to."

"Okay."

Yoongi led Jungkook by the hand toward the man who straightened out his posture as the two approached. 

"How can I help you, gentlemen?" The man asked, eyeing the boys up and down.

Yoongi looked at Jungkook who seemed either too distraught or too scared to speak to the guy before saying, "Jungkook has an apartment here and we'd like to get his things."

"Can I see your key?"

Jungkook nodded and dug around in his pocket before pulling out a little bronze key and showing it to the man who nodded. 

"Alright, go on up." The man shifted to the side allowing the two to go up the stairs. 

The stairs crackled every second or two as they went up. All the apartment doors were wide open as if they were trying to air the place out. All the lights were out and puddles shone in the small amount of light that was provided from the grey skies in the windows. Occasionally a person would pass by on the stairs or would be going in or out of the open apartments. Nobody seemed really all that upset over the loss of the building. Maybe it was the idea of a fresh start at a new building or maybe they'd just gone through so many crappy homes that it didn't really matter at this point. It would be easy to relocate if that were the case. Jungkook on the other hand, he'd said this was his first home away from his parents. By the looks of it, he hadn't been able to afford much else, including insurance. He'd be forced out with no where else to go and no means to get somewhere. 

The floor made a slosh noise as Jungkook took his first step into his apartment. The water was up to their ankles and still slowly streaming down from the apartment above. Various cracks had formed in the ceiling since the last time Yoongi had visited and had little droplets of water falling down from them as well. As quickly as he could, the brunette sloshed his way to the bedroom with the mint haired following behind. Jungkook was digging through the dresser when Yoongi made it to him. The upper drawer on the left sat on top of the dresser's surface while the other remained pulled out in its proper place. 

"Do you need any help?" Yoongi asked.

Jungkook shook his head before following with, "Wait, can you get my duffel bag out of the bathroom, please?"

"Sure." The older did as told and made his way out of the room.

The bathroom didn't look too bad, other than the water and disgusting stains from prior residents. It was still slightly intact and somewhat usable. Just, as said, disgusting. The only thing that wasn't wet in the entire room was a shelf high up above the toilet. On the shelf sat a yellow duffel bag. Yoongi, being as short as he was, managed to grab onto the corner of the bag and pulled it down into his arms. The bag was heavier than the mint haired had expected. Like there was more than just air inside. It took a lot of resisting to not open the bag and see what was inside. It felt like a box from the pat down he had given it. A box that he was not meant to mess with. He slung the yellow bag over his shoulder before, slowly but surely, making his way back over to the bedroom. 

Jungkook had dug out most of the shelves contents and spread them across the dresser surface. He was going through it as if they were family members that he hadn't seen in months. The camera from a few nights prior sat engulfed by a white, knitted blanket. Other little things littered the surface, things that had no meaning to Yoongi but did to Jungkook. Little toys meant for smaller children, sheets of paper adorned with an unfamiliar writing, and photographs of what Yoongi could only assume was a simpler time. The photos contained two young boys that looked an awful lot a like. The two at a beach, in the park, the older reading to the younger, helping each other out with homework, all of these were things that made it look closely to what having a sibling looked like. Even Yoongi knew what that looked like and he grew up an only child. 

The only problem with this was that Jungkook had already said that he didn't have any siblings. It was obvious the brunette was the smaller of the two brothers in the photos. Yoongi took a step closer to the dresser, alerting the brunette that the mint haired was back from retrieving the bag. Jungkook quickly scooped up all the photos that had been spread out across the dresser and hid them from view.

"Here's the duffel." Yoongi said, handing it over to the younger who unzipped it and slid the photos into it, quick to hide them further.

"Thank you, Hyung." Jungkook said as he pulled a shoe box out of the bag. 

Yoongi watched curiously as Jungkook opened the box and revealed a couple of toys that he hadn't put into the drawer. The toys were dumped out onto the surface and the papers were stacked and placed into the box. The brunette wrapped the blanket around the camera, the same initials on the camera were sewn into the hem of the blanket as well. He gently set the blanket wrapped device into the box. 

"Whose camera was that, Kook?" Yoongi asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Sorry?" Jungkook said, looking over at the older.

"Whose camera was that? The initials on it aren't yours." He explained.

"O-Oh." Jungkook paled, "I-I got it from a yard sale a couple years back."

Yoongi hummed, "Lucky find. This is a nice camera."

"It is." Jungkook grabbed the little toys and put as many as he could fit in the box before closing it and loading it and what was left into the bag. 

Why did Jungkook feel the need to lie about having a brother? Didn't he trust them? It wasn't like telling them about his sibling would change how they thought about him. Namjoon had been honest about having a sister. He took pride in saying she was his sister.  Wasn't Jungkook proud of his brother? He certainly seemed to idolize or at least look up to him. Who else keeps all of their sibling's things unless they did. Sure, some kids wore their older sibling's clothes when they grew out of them, but that wasn't really a choice. It made no sense to Yoongi.

"Hyung, can you help me load all of this up?" Jungkook asked as he opened his shirt and pant's drawer.

"Sure, do you think it'll all fit in the duffel?"

Jungkook nodded, "I don't have too much."

Jungkook's point was proven when Yoongi took a look at the drawers. Six shirts, maybe less, in one, and four pairs of pants in the other.

"This is all you wear?"

Jungkook nodded again.

"I'm taking you clothes shopping sometime, Kook."

"There's no need, hyung. I'm happy with what I have."

Yoongi sighed as he put a shirt into the bag, "Do you know where you're going to stay?"

Jungkook froze for a second, "Y-Yeah, my parents are okay with me staying with them."

"Just know you can always stay with me if you need to."

Jungkook shook his head, "I don't want to be a bother."

"You aren't a bother JK, I promise."

"Alright, hyung." Jungkook said, zipping up the duffel after unloading his sock and underwear drawer. 

"Would you like me to drop you off anywhere?"

"Outside of my parent's neighborhood if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all." Yoongi said, leading the younger out of the bedroom, "We better be going, I have the sneaking suspicion that Namjoon is going to come by my apartment."

"You shouldn't have lied to him, hyung."

"Well, I wanted to help you and it got me out of work, didn't it?"

"Still-"

"If it makes you feel better, I'll work double as hard as I usually do tomorrow."

Jungkook laughed, "Alright, hyung."

"Now then, on to your parent's neighborhood?"

Jungkook nodded.

Whatever was going on with Jungkook and his family, Yoongi knew would all be revealed in time. All it would take was some shared trust and care. It didn't matter when because in the meantime, he had two people that he could consider his closest friends and was having the ride of his life. They took him down paths that he never would've ever considered going down. They took his worst enemy and contorted it into nothing all with their presence. They were all he needed and in a way he just hadn't realized yet.

Word Count: 2834

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How are you guys doing today? Good I hope.
I don't really know what to write down here today. Um, I really love this chapter. The details about Yoongi's childhood are some of the best I've ever written. I love this story so much.
Thank you all for reading and I'll see you next week!