One of the best, yet most underrated perks of being 'worldwide' Namjoon decided, was not having to stake out the baggage claim conveyor belt after long flights.

They had people for that now.

It was still hard for him to believe it (some days more than others), but despite feelings of doubt and niggling hints of guilt that they're heaping such unnecessary tasks on their staff (regardless of the fact that said staff are well paid for the duty), Namjoon was grateful.

Especially so on evenings like this one, when their destination airport seems to host more excited ARMY's than some of their concerts; throngs of fans lining the walls, leaving only a narrow walkway defined by flimsy rope barriers and firm security personnel.

Namjoon's self-appointed task of sheep-dogging his members was much more manageable without the added stress of the crowds that await anyone attempting to triangulate the location of (specific and multiple) items of luggage at the baggage claim area.

And the logistics of baggage claim for seven people at risk of being mobbed by adoring crowds? Insane. (Likely the reason for the newly appointed luggage handling staff).

Contemplating the slowly increasing number of 'airport' related incidents (Tae going missing that one time. Kookie nearly being mobbed. Jimin misplacing his passport (temporarily) - and all these in the past four months) Namjoon was willing to embrace anything that made his 'leader' responsibilities less heart-attack inducing.

Which was also precisely how he would usually describe trying to herd his exhausted (two weeks, four countries), over-tired (Jin-hyung had failed abysmally at getting the maknae trio to take a nap on the plane. Abysmally.) and overly-excited (they're finally home again) hellions (members) through a fan-crazed airport.

Usually.

For some reason though, tonight Namjoon was just giddy with excitement and thankfulness at being home.

Not that he wasn't keeping all six heads in sight (and preferably within reach) at all times, but- he was relaxed. Energetic and enthused about the whole situation, to be honest.

He could tell from the (quite ridiculous, really) air kiss competition that Jin and Yoongi seemed to have devolved into, that he wasn't the only one. Hoseok was encouraging the closest fans to shout performance scores of their eldest pairs efforts, and it was quite apparent that the fans (and Hobi) were enjoying stirring Seokjin by consistently scoring Yoongi higher.

Though this only seemed to encourage Jin to even more outlandish flourishes and gestures, which of course, Yoongi was forced to match if he wanted to retain his crown (that was rightfully Jin-hyungs. And no, Namjoon was not biased. Jin was and always would be, king of air-kissing.)

Jimin was bouncing along several steps ahead of the oldest three, at height with Taehyung, their heads pressed close together, the younger of the pair having thrown an arm across Jimin's shoulders to drag him closer. Their 95 line was no doubt up to shenanigans, and Namjoon was better off knowing nothing.

Plausible deniability.

Besides, they couldn't be planning anything too mischievous on 50+ hours sleep deprivation (Namjoon guessed that they were working on about four hours sleep for the past two days. Between them).

Actually.

Perhaps he should be worried?

He was too happy to be suspicious or wary though, and thinking that he could just as easily regret brushing of his suspicions later as right then, he shrugged instead, and turned to sweep his gaze over the crowd again.

Just in case.

Some Taehyung or Jimin biased fans could have been jealous of the lack of interaction from their favorites (especially with Jin, Yoongi, and Hobi hamming it up just a few feet away). Namjoon was charmed to see that the fans instead seemed enraptured by the moment of intimate friendship on display as the duo-

Wait.

Namjoon's brain had obviously already noticed what his eyes had failed to transmit because he wasn't at all panicked or worried, despite only being able to see six heads (and the baby of the group was the one missing, at that). But, it wasn't a pair that was enthralling and captivating the many camera-phone wielding fans at the front of their group. It was a trio.

Now that he was looking more closely, Namjoon could just make out the tufts of dark hair at Taehyung's shoulder, and the strong arms that were curling around Jimin's lower back to clasp together securely - keeping Jimin comfortably in his piggyback position on Kookie's back.

This was probably also why Jimin suddenly appeared to be the same height as Tae. Namjoon was not sure if he should have been more worried about the possibility of the terrible-two corrupting the baby, or that Jungkook might just be the ringleader of whatever the three are currently planning.

Although, as long as it wasn't mischief scheduled for tomorrow, Namjoon thought he could probably cope. Or, you know. Join in.

But tomorrow? Tomorrow Yoongi was enforcing their first ever official Yoongi-day, and everyone was sleeping (or otherwise quietly entertaining themselves) for the entire day.

Heaven.

At this stage, Namjoon wholeheartedly agreed with Yoongi's reverently breathed description from earlier that day.

They'd had an absolutely grueling 15 days and were more than ready for some downtime.

Thankfully, it looked like they were going to get it too - three whole days of clear-schedule freedom. And Namjoon was completely serious about everyone sleeping through tomorrow.

The rest of the time was theirs to spend as they wished (individually or in groups as they pleased). Although Jin-hyung had already extracted promises, bribed, threatened and asked politely (courses for horses) that each of them would tidy up their bedrooms and strip their bedding for him to wash.

Management had offered to have cleaners do it of course, but they had so little privacy as it was that while it was still manageable, the members had all agreed that they'd prefer to keep as many strangers out of their home as possible.

And only a fool would say no to Jin-hyung when he offered to cook or clean. Although, really - only a fool would say no to Jin-hyung, period.

Now that he thought about it, Namjoon was pretty sure that the evildoing the maknae's were planning was likely the movie night he'd promised they could organize (in a moment of erroneous stupidity, naturally).

It would likely be horror movies all-around, and copious amounts of junk food, because 'Tae and Kookie'...and that was pretty much all the explanation anyone in the group would need.

And everyone one of them would sit through the jump-scare and gore infested evening (despite Hobi's terror, Jimin's bravado (read: terror) Jin's indifference, Namjoon's distaste for meaningless horror and Yoongi's intellectual disgust), once again merely because- 'Tae and Kookie.'

But, it was much less daunting than some of the schemes the trio could be planning, so Namjoon was counting it a win for now.

"We love you, Kim Namjoon!"

The sheer volume of the shout to allow it to rise above the cacophony of the busy airport was impressive. Namjoon jumped a little at the unexpectedness, but he was already turning his head, beaming a megawatt smile (he couldn't have made it smaller if he'd tried) in the general direction of the en-masse (hastily pre-planned and undeniably adorable for it) shout-out.

There were so many fans there; so many people who appreciated all BTS was and supported all they hope to become. Namjoon was continuously amazed and overwhelmed by their gorgeous fandom, their ARMY-

But confounded and astonished as he was by the growth of their fan base internationally, as well as incredibly humbled- Namjoon still loved coming home more than anything.

To hear the language and dialects of his parent, his friends, his people- so familiar and warm; it made home solidify again and brought him back down to earth. It made everything real again.

The huge smile hadn't dimmed at all as they reached the dark SUV on the curb five minutes later, and Namjoon counted various colored heads as they disappeared into the interior. He pushed Hoseok in ahead of himself (ignoring the resulting yelp), turning for one last wave and smile before he tumbled into the last remaining seat, the door sliding closed beside him.

It was suddenly very, very quiet. Silent, or nearly so - only the gentle hum of the engine as the SUV pulled away, and the muted buzz of the crowd as they faded into the distance.

And then Yoongi squawked indignantly, "Yah! How come I'm in the back!", and a different sort of cacophony erupted.

Namjoon smiled, relaxing as he turned to peer into the rear seat where Yoongi-hyung was indeed corraled between Jimin and Jungkook, both of whom looked way too innocent.

Beside him, Hoseok twisted in his middle spot to look over the backrest into the rear compartment as well, teasing "Sorry hyung, we changed the seating hierarchy. It's height over age from now on-"

Namjoon couldn't help the snigger that escaped, rolling his eyes toward Jin as the oldest looked back with an over-the-top shocked face; Hobi liked to poke the hornet's nest a little too much sometimes.

Yoongi howled with disbelief, and beside hi Jungkook piped up predictably with "What about me then- "

"You're the maknae. You don't count." Hobi explained matter-of-factly, and even Yoongi broke from his (mostly) mock anger with a bark of laughter at Kookie's stunned face.

The brat was likely in genuine shock at being shut down so effectively by their resident sunshine; Hoseok usually much less savage than certain other people Namjoon could name if pressed. It was hilarious. He wasn't the only one who thought so; Jimin was in semi-hysterics, and Namjoon could hear Jin's windshield laughter from the front of the vehicle echoing over everything else, the oldest only semi-behaving himself to not distract their driver unduly.

It wasn't even that it was that funny a comment, really. Namjoon wasn't concerned though; it was just adrenaline and excitement for being home. They'd crash within minutes, Joon was sure.

Or sooner, perhaps- at least in one case, Namjoon suspected.

He hadn't heard Taehyung since they'd piled into the vehicle. Even though Namjoon was sure; he remembered Taehyung sliding into the SUV only seconds after Jimin, he still couldn't stop his immediate need to lean forward (to see past Hobi's back where the dancer was half kneeling in his seat)-

And as he'd know, Tae (the lucky maknae baby who'd scored the prime seating arrangement from Yoongi's misfortune) was quite safely accounted for, curled against the left passenger window.

Namjoon had seen each of the maknae trio engage in full toddler-mode bragging (poked out tongue and scrunched up nose included) when they managed to beat each other to the shower. Scoring Min Yoongi's car seat should have brought the Armageddon of gloating rights.

And Kim Taehyung could gloat like no one's business (the real problem was that he was so charmingly adorable while doing so that the offended party suddenly found that they didn't mind all that much).

With not even Tae's patented 'eyebrow raise and smirk' forthcoming, Namjoon had naturally assumed the younger was asleep, or nearly so.

He wasn't asleep.

His eyes were open- unfocused, staring at the back of Jin's seat, though he didn't appear to be overly drowsy or lethargic.

He looked flustered, Namjoon realized at the same moment he noticed and was instantly concerned by the hand that Taehyung had fisted into his hair, just above and behind his ear.

He was tugging gently, the movement seemingly unconscious.

Namjoon smoothed the frown pulling at his brow as he winced in sympathy. Tae had mentioned a niggling headache earlier that day, but he'd thought the younger was over it. Apparently not.

It was probably just exhaustion and stress; a tension headache that would go away on its own with time, but still, 'no use suffering needlessly' Namjoon thought as he leaned further around Hoseok to ask, "Did your headache come back, TaeTae? Do you want Jin-hyung to find you some painkillers- "

At his name, Jin turned from where he was conversing quietly with their driver, leaning into the gap between the front seats to ask with concern, apparently having heard only the tail end of the conversation, "Painkillers? Who-"

"...Tae?" Namjoon prompted when the younger didn't appear to have heard him, simultaneously bringing Jin up to speed, who frowned slightly while peering around his seat at their second youngest, no doubt seeing exactly what Namjoon had.

Because Tae had yet to move, nor acknowledge Namjoon's question.

Jin, sitting closer to the younger singer (as well as likely an attribute of just being Jin) hooked one arm around his headrest for balance, the other reaching out to settle gently on Taehyung's thigh. The gentle squeeze, as much as his voice requested Taehyung's attention, "TaeTae?"

Hoseok, having noticed the quiet by-play beside him, turned to sit in his seat correctly, allowing Namjoon to watch as Taehyung blinked owlishly as if having to drag his mind from far away to glance up at Jin, his confusion plain as he asked, "..Hyung?"

Jin smiled softly, but Namjoon could see the concerned frown hidden behind, and he shared it- Taehyung was well, Taehying...but he was rarely this spacey.

"Have you got a headache, Tae?" Jin repeated and then gestured to where Taehyungs hand was still clenched into his hair when the younger continued to stare at him, non-plussed.

Instead of answering, Taehyung seemed slightly surprised to realize that his hand was tangled in his hair, and he loosened his grip slightly, fist turning to gentle fingers as he rolled the locks between them thoughtfully.

His own concern growing with each non-answer and vague reaction, Namjoon was only stopped from leaning across and dragging Tae's attention to himself by Jin doing exactly that; the older's hand cupping beneath Taehyung's chin to gently draw his scattered focus.

Jin's voice was very much 'Hyung' when he spoke; soft but firm, "Taehyung-ah, can you focus on me, please? I need to know if you're okay-"

Taehyung blinked, and his eyes widened as if he was seeing Jin for the first time since the conversation had started, and he wet his lips, mumbling "Sorry. Sorry hyung- I'm- I- No I don't have a headache- "

Jin, looking as convinced as Namjoon felt, pressed, "Mhmm. I asked if you're okay? Are you okay, Taehyung?"

Taehyung dropped his gaze, the hand still attached to the strands of hair being pulled mercilessly by the wandering fingers as he worked an answer from his lips, "I- I think so. ...Yes?"

The silence that pervaded the vehicle was uneasy, and Taehyung shifted as if suddenly realizing he was the center of increasingly concerned attention.

Namjoon moved slightly back as Hobi leaned towards him to make room for Yoongi, the older's head and shoulders suddenly appearing between Hoseok and Taehyung, and Jungkook leaned forward to peer over the headrest at his youngest hyung. But Namjoon would guess that it was Jimin's sudden little huff of concerned worry that brought clarity to Taehyung's apparent confusion.

Taehyung turned back to Jin, who was frowning now and not even bothering to try and conceal it. The younger took a deep breath and tried to explain, "I'm okay. Yes. I'm not hurt. I just-"

He looked almost... somewhere between mildly disoriented, verging into real distress as he smoothed down the hair he'd been worrying.

"They cut my hair."

"What?" Namjoon bit out, for an instant wondering if all of this had stemmed from some half waking daydream Tae had been having about the Danger MV when he'd accidentally cut-

"A fan, or - someone. Cut my hair. I think." Taehyung mumbled disjointedly as if trying out the words for the first time himself, and not liking at all how they sat.

Namjoon felt his stomach hollow out sickeningly. Was he hearing this- Was he understanding this correctly? Had- had Taehyung, one of their dongsaeng- One of his-

Jin immediately leaned forward, intuitive as ever, drawing Taehyungs fingers away from his hair, pressing the freed hand into Hoseok's reaching grasp. The oldest's hands were infinitely gentle as he tilted Taehyung's head to see the damage-

Jin was silent for a second as he inspected, fingers rubbing the roughly chopped locks carefully before speaking, "It's definitely been cut. Probably scissors- Oh baby, no- Hey, hey-"

Taehyung was shaking his head, wiping away tears that clung to his lower lashes, threatening to fall, " Sorry. I'm okay- I just. The scissors- I felt them. So cold- I thought they'd cut my ear- And then I thought they could have-" he paused to draw in a shuddery breath, visibly trying to get a grip on his emotions before continuing, "-but- I'm Okay. Sorry. I'm being stupid. It's just a little bit of hair. They didn't hurt me. I'm okay- "

Jungkook draped himself over the top of the headrest, upside down to wrap his arms around Taehyung as best he could. Tae whined, arms coming up to return the (admittedly quite pitiful) attempt at a hug-

-and Namjoon got with the program.

"Switch with me, Hope." he requested, at the same time that Jin said, "Swap seats with me, Hoseok?"

Someone in the rear of the vehicle snorted, and Namjoon glanced at Jin, his sheepish smile matching the one the older was wearing. He glanced back to Hoseok, hoping their mood maker would choose the much easier slide to the left than attempt to climb through to the front-

Oh. He'd fucked up.

Hobi was staring between Jin and Namjoon as if he'd been simultaneously betrayed and sucker punched in the gut.

For all Namjoon's IQ, Jin had always been faster off the mark with this sort of thing, "Oh, no Hoseok-ah! No! I didn't mean it like that at all- I just, it's not you-you're perfect! Wonderful, amazing and I know you could look after him fantastically. I just- I need to. I need to. Please."

Hoseok's hurt face crumpled into soft understanding and Namjoon coughed awkwardly, drawing his attention, "Uh - yeah. What Jin-hyung said. Me too. Please?"

Yoongi snorted and rolled his eyes before speaking, "Just swap with Tae, Hoba- then he can be cuddled to death from all sides. And above."

Namjoon grinned. He'd known there was a reason he kept Yoongi around. Within minutes Taehyung had been relocated to the middle seat and was plastered with hyung from all directions. Not to mention the sneaky dongsaeng hand that found his, tangling their fingers together and squeezing.

Namjoon sighed.

"It's not okay, TaeTae. You don't have to be okay with this. No, you're not hurt-", Namjoon was so, so glad- Someone had gotten close enough to Taehyung with scissors to cut his hair. If they'd wanted to - to do something else? Namjoon shuddered, squeezing tighter, before leaning back.

Taehyung needed to understand this.

He continued, "You're not hurt, but- and I don't want to scare you. But you could have been. This should never have happened. Never have even been able to happen. I'll talk to manager-nim about it – see if there's any footage. But Tae- I'm really sorry. I should have seen-"

"No, Namjoon-hyung, it's not your fault!" Taehyung honestly sounded appalled at the suggestion, but Namjoon should have-

"It's my job to look after you Taehyung, and I didn't-"

"Stop it! Stop it. It's your job to make sure we're doing our best for Bangtan and ARMY. And you have to- to I don't know- make sure I go to bed before midnight some nights of the week, and to make sure Jin makes sure we eat something other than ramen and junk! And to - to do this! When we're sad or hurt, you have to do this! That's it. "

Namjoon was stunned into silence; how was Taehyung so...Taehyung normally, and then suddenly comes out with things like that?

Taehyung had near worked himself back up to tears, and even though Namjoon wasn't ready to believe that he held no responsibility for Tae being attacked (attacked!) right in front of him-

Namjoon also realized that his guilt wouldn't help Taehyung any. He could only do his best to help now. To do his job, as Taehyung had said.

" Okay. You're right. Okay- shh. Just breathe. -"

Taehyung gulped down a few mouthfuls of air, pressing his lips tightly together to stop the threatened tears that continued to escape, his voice was choked as he replied, "Sorry. I'm over-reacting. I know. I'm okay-"

"You're not overacting, Taehyung. You're not. Being upset is okay. I'm upset. We're all upset. You're not hurt, no- but it was scary, and you could have been hurt. And they did cut your hair. You didn't want them to, so that's not okay. " Yoongi explained, trying to put words to the confused mess he knew Taehyungs emotions and feelings must be.

"I feel kind of sick." Taehyung breathed.

Jin cupped the side of his jaw, noting the pale skin and wondered if Taehyung was in shock. It was probably to be expected. "Do we need to stop the car, Tae-baby?"

Taehyung shook his head, curling further into Hoseok's welcoming embrace, "No. Not like I'm going to be sick really. I don't think, anyway. Uh, disgusted? Someone I don't know touched me- they took a piece of me! Just my hair but-"

"Tae. Taehyung, you have every right to feel yucky- how about a nice warm shower when we get home? How does that sound? We'll get your hair fixed in the morning and speak to manager-nim about what happened, to make sure it can't happen again, okay? " Namjoon reassured, making a note to call Sejin-manager as soon as he was out of earshot of Tae to give the man some pre-warning.

Taehyung nodded, his fingers finding the chopped locks again before Jin folded them into his own grasp. "I just- why did they want my hair anyway?" Taehyung voiced, and Namjoon cringed at the question.

Despite the fact that Taehyung could probably come up with the most plausible answers himself, Namjoon didn't want to voice them. Especially not so soon after the incident, when it was fairly obvious that Taehyung was still processing and coming to terms with how he felt about the entire situation. Nothing he could think to say was in any way pleasant, and all options he could think of were both violating and disturbing.

"It was probably a witch! I bet they wanted to create a spell; you might wake up pregnant tomorrow or profess your undying love for Kookie!"

Taehyung sat up slowly, staring over the back seat at Jimin who gazed back. Namjoon wondered if he was the only one who saw the flicker of uncertainty in the dancer's eyes. Jimin was trying to lighten the mood, to help Taehyung feel better; but was it too soon? Did Taehyung need to talk and process and have the situation treated seriously and with sensitivity for a while longer?

Namjoon prepared himself to intervene, to console-

Taehyung's eyes widened slowly, and he blinked, once, twice before his gaze shifted -"Oh, Gukkie-" he simpered, batting his eyelashes at the maknae.