It wasn't that Yugyeom was nervous, exactly. He'd had a faint idea that there was another Im brother, maybe from old photos or something, but he wasn't sure BamBam had ever mentioned Mark by name before, and now Yugyeom was being dragged bodily up the stairs to meet him, then down the hall to the room across from the bathroom. He'd always just assumed the door led to a closet or something, but clearly not, as BamBam pounded on it, calling, "Mark! Mark! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Yugyeom held his breath as the door opened.

"Hello?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This is Yugyeom! My friend Mom was telling you about last night!"

Mark seemed to size Yugyeom up a bit, before smiling and holding out a hand.

Smiling did wonders for Mark's face, in Yugyeom's opinion—a face that was some strange mixture of BamBam's and Youngjae's. He was shorter than Yugyeom—but so were most people—and his face had a very Jaebum-ish quality in that, when he wasn't smiling, he looked like he would gladly kill someone, but when he smiled, it lit up the room.

"Nice to meet you, Yugyeom," Mark said, holding out a hand. Yugyeom shook it. "This is my friend, Seokjin."

Inside the room, a very handsome young man waved to Yugyeom, who waved back—only slightly more awkwardly.

There was a bit of a pause where Mark continued to stand in his doorway, decidedly not inviting them in, and they continued to stand in front of him, apparently waiting. It became awkward very quickly, and BamBam's face flushed a little as he pulled Yugyeom away.

"Have fun!" Seokjin called after them.

They didn't say anything on the way back downstairs, but Yugyeom couldn't help feeling sorry for his friend. He couldn't imagine trying to get used to Namjoon leaving to begin with, let alone get used to him coming back later.

Also, the idea of Taehyung as the oldest brother terrified him.

"You're ready?" Jimin asked when they came back down. Taehyung was sitting beside Youngjae, who was talking animatedly to him.

"Yep," Yugyeom said as brightly as he could. "Mark's really cool, Tae, you should meet him sometime."

Taehyung grinned in response, wishing Youngjae happy reading before following Jimin outside.

They walked in comfortable silence most of the way to Jungkook's house, Jimin and Tae walking in front, hands intertwined and swinging between them. Yugyeom shot occasional glances at BamBam until the other boy said, "Sorry about Mark," very quietly.

Yugyeom frowned; it was rare to see BamBam so reserved. "It's not your fault. It's not like he was rude or something, he—"

"He doesn't usually act like that," BamBam interrupted. "Or he didn't. I don't know. It's like…I don't know. He used to love hanging out with us."

"He probably just needs some time," Yugyeom said, because that sounded right in his head. It sounded like something a mature adult would say in this situation.

"But what if he's never back to normal?" BamBam asked.

Yugyeom bit his lip. He wasn't sure what to say. For Mark, he probably was acting normal, but he knew that BamBam was asking when Mark would go back to the way he was. And there was no guarantee that would happen.

So Yugyeom said nothing, afraid of saying the wrong thing, and instead threw an arm over his shorter friend's shoulders as they walked up to Jungkook's front door.

Jungkook's father answered when they knocked, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts—which was still strange to Yugyeom, who was used to seeing Mr. Jung in a math classroom, wearing a suit and tie.

"Hello boys, here for Jungkook? You're all going to the beach?"

"Yessir!" Taehyung said, rectangular smile on full display.

"Do you need a ride? Hobi's heading in that direction, I think," Mr. Jung said, leaning back inside for a moment to yell, "Hoseok! Why don't you give Kookie and his friends a ride to the beach?"

"It's Jungkook, Dad," Jungkook muttered, appearing, face rather red.

"Do you have sunblock on?" Mrs. Jung asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere to apply some to her son's nose.

"Yes! Stop, Mom!" Jungkook yanked away from her.

"What about the rest of you?" Mrs. Jung approached rather ominously with a swirl of sunblock in one hand.

"We're all blocked, Mrs. Jung!" Taehyung intervened. "What are you and Mr. Jung going to be up to today?"

"Yard work!" Mr. Jung said, grinning almost maniacally. Behind him, Hoseok mimicked the crazed smile as he descended the stairs.

"You boys want a ride?" Hobi asked, ruffling each of their hair in turn.

"Yes! Rides from Hobi!" Taehyung was bouncing up and down a little as he tended to do when he got really excited, which could sometimes cause problems in their dim, cramped living space.

"A ride from Hobi it is!" Mr. Jung said. "Drive safe, wear your seatbelts, mind the speed limits."

"Yes, Dad," Hobi said, practically skipping out the door, throwing an arm around Yugyeom as he did. "How's my favorite youngest dancer on the team?" he asked.

Yugyeom rolled his eyes, but felt his face flush a little all the same. It wasn't the same as getting a compliment from someone like Jaebum, who rarely gave them, but it still felt pretty good to hear that from Hoseok.

"How're your brothers doing?" Hobi asked BamBam, and Yugyeom felt his stomach drop. He should've seen that one coming.

"They seem okay," BamBam muttered. "Just…figuring stuff out, I guess."

Hobi nodded, getting into the driver's seat of his pickup.

"We've got the back!" Yugyeom said, maybe too loudly, from the surprise on Hobi and Jimin's faces.

Jungkook and BamBam followed him to climb into the bed of the truck, now used to the jolting ride they were in for, excited to feel the hot summer air.

But even as they neared the beach for a day of fun, BamBam's dark mood didn't lift.