He tries the door again, pushing against the panelling. It's rough under his hands, and he can feel the sharp slivers that tell of splinters if he's not careful.

It doesn't budge.

It's very dark in here. He wishes he had his phone, but it's sitting on the little table three or four meters away. If he looks through the tiny crack beside the door, he can see the text alert light blinking on regular occasion.

He shivers violently. He'd been in the middle of getting dressed after his shower when he'd become…distracted. His hair is dripping frigid water onto his bare shoulders. It's very unpleasant. He's not even wearing a shirt to soak up the moisture, let alone a jacket, and his pyjama pants sit too loose on his hips. The shivering isn't helping with that very much either.

How he manages to get himself into these situations, he will never, ever know, but the way he figures it, he has several options.

None of them are overly appealing, for differing reasons.

A. He can sit here quietly until he inevitably starves to death, dies and starts to smell. After which someone will probably find him anyway and he will be the butt of the next eternities worth of jokes. Pro: He won't be alive to hear them. Con: He won't be alive.

B. He can sit here until morning, at which time he will be missed and will most likely own up once they start calling for him. Worried Hyungs are hard to ignore, and Tae's not even getting started on their maknae. They'd likely let him out, but he'll be the butt of everyone's jokes- and not only for his act of sheer stupidity, but also for sitting in the mess of his own creating all night rather than own up to said stupidity. He'll be the butt of all jokes for eternity. Pro: he wouldn't have to hear them until morning. Con: It was already cold in here, and he was hungry.

C. He could start calling out now, and hope that someone hears him and comes rescue him.

He'd still be the butt of every joke until eternity, but at least he'd have aided in his own escape.

Pro: He'd be out in time for dinner (god he hopes so) Con: (He'd have to actually attract attention to his latest moment of stupidity – and this one is off the charts).

Taehyung already knows he's going with option C, but he hesitates, wanting to delay the oncoming embarrassment just a little longer.

He slumps to lean against the wall of the bane of his current existence, and huffs a massive sighing breath of complete vexation at his present circumstances, for all that they're of his own making.

He'd just been playing pretend.

It smells kind of funny, like mothballs meets old socks.

Taehyung is not a fan, and neither is his nose, as he finds out over the next few seconds, explosive sneezes and retaliatory coughing attempting to choke him; because his situation is not already bad enough.

He's never going to live this down.


Jimin kicks off his shoes by the front door. He's the second home tonight, and knows that the rest will be trickling in one or two at a time, depending one when they finish their individual photoshoots.

"JIMIN!?"

Jimin barely startles, despite the unexpectedness of the call that echoes throughout the house. He has no idea how Tae does that, but its eerily cool.

Since the house is empty, except for the two of them, he knows he's not going to get scolded for screeching back.

So he does.

"WHAT!?" He even cups his hands around his mouth for good measure. Take that, Jin! Inside voice whatever!

He hangs up his jacket, because Jin will bitch if it's left on the floor or draped over the back of one of the seats.

"COME FIND ME!" Taehyungs answering reply comes when he's in the living room, and Jimin follows the sound up the stairs.

Hide and seek? What are they five? He's at least gotta shower first. "I'M GONNA SHOWER FIRST, YOU LUNATIC!"

Taehyungs reply is immediate, and sounds a little more panicked than the exchanges of earlier, as if he doesn't want Jimin to disappear. "NOOO – PLEASE?! I'M KIND OF-"

Jimin stops still in the hallway. Now this? This sounds interesting. Taehyung levels of interesting. "KIND OF WHAT?!"

There's a beat or two, and when Tae's voice returns its several decibels lower, and decidedly sulky, despite still being a near shout. "KIND OF STUCK!"

Stuck. Stuck? Jimin raises an eyebrow as the call reverberates up the hallway, and he tries to pinpoint the room of origin. Further he thinks, than their own room near the top of the stairs. He needs more information. "STUCK? STUCK HOW? NO- STUCK WHERE?"

By this stage, Jimin, curiosity piqued, has followed the echoing trail of Taehyung's voice upstairs to the upper floor, along the hallway and into the mostly empty room opposite the hyung line bathroom.

Tae's voice is sullen when he answers, no longer shouting, "In the closet".

Jimin collapses into braying laughter that is in no way helped by Taehyungs salty reprimands and petulant begging from inside the closet. Every word just makes Jimin fall further into his giggling purgatory.

Finally, Taehyungs wounded pleading for Jimin "To just stop laughing for a moment and help him get out- before the hyungs get home!" gets Jimin's attention, and in honour of 95 liner solidarity, he manages to calm himself to the occasional snort and giggle as he approaches the cupboard.

He pulls on the handle and wiggles the knob.

He gives it a good tug, thinking it might be seized.

It's not seized.

"Tae, I think the door is locked- where's the key?"

There's several long poignant seconds silence, and Jimin is just starting to wonder if Tae doesn't know where the key is, which will definitely throw a spanner in the works, when the other boy answers in the most woefully humiliated voice Jimin has ever heard him use.

"I have the key".

Jimin can't help it, and it doesn't matter what Tae says-

"How you manage to get into these situations, I will never, ever know…", He manages to get out between giggles, before breaking down completely.

He's still laughing like a hyena ten minutes later when the downstairs door slams, and the they hear footsteps moving through the house.

"Tae? Jimin? You guys hungry?"

It's Namjoon, and his voice is coming from just outside the door.

Jimin is desperately trying to stifle his snorting giggles as Tae hisses at him, "Don't you dare Park Jimin! Shut up! Shush- Shhhh. Please! I don't want-"

"Why is that closet talking?"


Hoseok follows Namjoon into the room, and the two share a glance.

They already know why the closet is talking.

Kim Taehyung is the only explanation, for all that it usually not a logical one. Likely the exact opposite for the most part.

J-hope moves forward to speak to Taehyung, his voice kind and gentle, as only their Hobi can be.

Namjoon sighs, shaking his head as he also pads closer, examining the cupboard as he approaches.

It's old. Like, older than Jin old, and looks its age. Not antique old, but like 'trash-old'. It was possibly once white, or maybe some other pale pastel colour, but now it's just a motley mess of grey and dark coffee coloured staining. The 'pretend-wood-panelling' has mostly peeled back to show raw ply beneath, and even that's kind of grungy and gross, dark with mould in a few places.

Namjoon can totally see the appeal.

Not.

"Taehyung, come out of there- it's probably a cesspool of germs and bacteria." Namjoon orders.

At the mention of germs and bacteria, J-hope backs away hands raised before him as if they may be contaminated.

Beside him, Jimin folds back to the floor, his arms wrapped around himself as he laughs.

"Hyuuung! Let me out- please. Pleeease!" The cupboard wails.

Namjoon looks from the cupboard to J-hope, then down to Jimin, who's still laughing like he's dying on the floor beside it.

"Park Jimin! Let Taehyung out of the cupboard right now!" Namjoon orders.

He blinks as Jimin's flips like a light switch, howling about the injustice of it all!

He's pretty sure the cupboard is giggling behind him.

It takes Namjoon a good minute to convince J-hope that he's probably not infected by any known (or unknown) diseases, but he can't convince him that he doesn't need to go wash his hands right this second.

It takes a further two to get Jimin off the floor. He's forced to grind out an apology for the 'besmirching of his good name' (good name- huh!) before the boy will explain what he knows of the situation.

Which is basically that Taehyung has managed to lock himself in the closet, with the key.

The closet which only locks from the outside.

How Taehyung gets himself into these situations, he will never, ever know.

And to be honest, Namjoon doesn't want to know.

Be the leader, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

Okay. He's got this.

The door handle is a small metal knob, a little smaller than a golf ball. Namjoon can't get a grip on it, his hands are too big. He gets glared at when he suggests Jimin try, but the younger boy does do as he's asked, eventually. As Jimin had already explained, quite pointedly, the door didn't even budge.

The look he's getting right now is an "I told you so" if he's ever had one.

Flapping his hands in dismissal of the brat's attitude, Namjoon gets creative.

He tries looping a sock (he'd made Jimin shed one of his) around the door knob, and using it for extra leverage; hoping to break the lock away from the inside door, but the damn thing doesn't give at all. Namjoon pulls harder; but still nothing, no movement. He tugs again, harder, and the doorknob breaks off the door.

The door is still firmly closed.

This is of course, all accompanied by Jimin's helpful commentary to Taehyung.

J-hope is busy liberally dousing the cupboard with antibacterial surface spray, Namjoon is chasing Jimin around and around the cupboard swatting at him with the sock, and Taehyung is wailing loudly from inside when Yoongi walks in.


Yoongi turns around and walks right back out.


Jungkook passes Yoongi on the stairs, and raises an eyebrow at the dead-fish face the older man is sporting. JK is pretty sure he's muttering, "You saw nothing, you saw nothing" under his breath.

Jungkook can already hear the ruckus from the upper floor, and after seeing Yoongi's reaction, he knows it's gotta be good.

He's not disappointed.

"Oh. My. God. I know what this is!" are the first words out of his mouth when he enters the room, and all movement and noise ceases.

"Jeon Jungkook! Don't you dare! Don't you even think about it! No-" Taehyung is screeching at a decibel previously unknown to human ears, as if he's attempting to use sheer volume to deafen them to whatever Jungkook is about to say.

And the maknae is definitely going to say it. His grin is pure evil.

Sure enough.

"So guys… Guess who watched the Chronicles of Narnia last night?"

Jimin is the first one to break the poignant, waiting silence, "Uh Tae. You know that Narnia is not a real place, right?"

"I know! I knooow! And even if it is, it's definitely not in this shitty closet!" Taehyung fires back, thumping the cupboard wall angrily.

The other four couldn't have stopped laughing if they'd tried.

"Let me in Tae, we can be the Lion and the witch in the wardrobe!" Jimin crows, giggling madly, draped over Namjoon's lap where the leader has slumped to the floor, giggling like a four-year-old.

Jungkook adds his own two cents, his face buried against J-hopes shoulder, his words muffled, but not muffled enough, "After that you can visit the wizard of Oz! That's like Australia, right?! You've been there before Tae!"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! It's not like that! It's not funny! SHUT! UP- oh."

The 'oh' was a little tiny tacked on exclamation, almost lost in his enraged huff of breath at the end of the sentence, and Namjoon's leader senses kicked in, overriding his 'Hyung teasing adorable Dongsaeng'.

"Oh what, Tae? Oh, what? Taehyung?" Namjoon demands, rolling Jimin off as he gets to his feet to approach the suddenly ominously quiet cupboard.

The others fall silent as well, joviality tapering away as they realise that Namjoon is growing legitimately concerned.

Namjoon is about to ask again when Tae's voice finally echoes out to them, softer though, and slightly hitching, "Oh, I put my foot through the bottom of the cupboard?"

Jaenjang.

Namjoon hurries forward, his voice calm and steady despite the worry that the two other Maknae can clearly see, "Are you hurt?"

"Uh, I don't think so?" Tae responds, unsure.

"You don't think so. What do you mean, you don't think so?" Namjoon demands, wondering is Taehyung is being deliberately vague. The youngster won't want to risk missing practise tomorrow, even if it means concealing an injury.

It's never worked with Namjoon before, and it certainly won't start working now.

Using his best 'unmovable leader' voice, Namjoon orders, "Kim Taehyung, tell me right now-"

Taehyung interrupts him, his voice a squeak, "I can't get my foot back through. I mean, I don't think I'm injured- it doesn't hurt very bad. I'm just extra, extra stuck now."

It's J-Hope who catches the slip. "What's "very bad" Tae?"

"I don't- It's not. I mean- it's stings a little and seems to be caught on something, and when I try to- Ah!" He breaks off with a little yelp of surprised pain.

Jungkook, who's lying on his side at the base of the cupboard pulls his hand back from beneath, and his fingers are shiny and red.


They're not teasing anymore.

Taehyung insists that it's not bad. That it doesn't hurt unless he tries to pull it back through the hole. It's not so much that they don't believe him, at least the 6 th or 7th time he swears "it's the honest truth, on J-hopes smiling face", it's more that 'not feeling pain' can be indicative of injury in and of itself.

The door is a no go, they can't even get it to budge, and with the handle broken off, there is absolutely nothing they can do about the lock, even if they had the key.

That's when they decide, that between the four of them, they can probably muscle the cupboard away from the wall and turn it around, where they might be able to pry off the weaker plasterboard nailed to the back.

Contrary to popular prediction, and despite its rickety appearance, the thing weights an absolute tonne. Somehow they manage to slide it away from the wall just slightly, without any pinched fingers.

They split up, two to a side, Jimin and J-hope taking low purchase, and Jungkook and Namjoon grasping from above. Carefully they begin to try and turn the cupboard, pulling it further away from the wall.

Jungkook is the first to notice that it's over-balancing, but before he can get a word out, the whole thing is trying to tip forwards, and there is a worrying scraping, crunching, grating noise from within the top of the cupboard.

As if something incredible heavy is sliding forward.

The first muffled thump from within the cupboard echoes loudly around the room, and Taehyung startled, "Guys, I think there's bricks in here…" is the last thing that is heard before all hell breaks loose.

The cupboard becomes alarmingly top heavy alarmingly quickly, as whatever weight inside, including Taehyung, shifts to the front.

The thuds from within suddenly starts happening faster. Taehyung is silent.

Jungkook has moved back behind the cupboard, arms outstretched, eyes tightly clenched as he pulls back against the steadily increasing weight; he can fee his feet slipping. Below him, J-hope is straining, teeth clenched, but there is nothing to give him any traction, nothing he can pull against.

Namjoon has his back against the opposite corner, shoving backwards as hard as he can- he can feel that the thing is overwhelming them, and he's trying to shove Jimin out of the way with his foot- the boy is nearly under the front of the tipping cupboard.

And then Yoongi appears at his shoulder, bracing the entire front of the cupboard with his back. It gives them the split second the need to adjust grips and angles, and then as one coordinated effort they shove.

The cupboard bounces viciously off the wall behind it, rocks precariously on it legs for a moment, and then settles.

From within, a final thud is heard.

And then a small tearful voice calls out from inside, "I want J-Jin-Hyung!"

All five of them collapse to the ground in sheer bitter relief.


Jin walks all five of them downstairs, and points to the couch with a look that dares them to move.

He was the last to get home.

He'd expected to walk in, find some form of semi-edible food being cooked, that he would likely have to save, or order takeout instead of, if it was deemed unsalvageable. He'd thought he'd have time for a shower. He could wash his hair- it was rank with way too much hairspray.

Maybe he'd even get time to read a few more chapters of the book he's been working on for the past month.

Instead, he's been home for all of five minutes and he's already had to deal with the image of five of his dongsaeng's trying to console a cupboard.

And then he'd heard the whole sorry story from start to woeful end from Namjoon.

Taehyung's quiet, stifled whimpering and pleading to just let me out now in the background hadn't helped his disposition any.

So no. Jin isn't going to listen to any more of this bullshit. They're all going to sit in the living room. Namjoon can order Pizza. Jungkook will choose a movie. Yoongi will get the first-aid kit. J-hope and Jimin will fetch blankets and pillows. They can shower, two at a time.

He wants them all back in the lounge room in 15 minutes.

Jin pulls the storeroom door closed behind him, hefting the crowbar and balancing its weight over his shoulder as he stalks through the living room and up the stairs, unaware of the five sets of eyes that trail after him in disbelieving awe.

He's going to go rescue Teahyung, and heaven help any cupboard that happens to get in the way.

A new Bangtan legend is born that evening.


The empty room is quiet when Jin walks in, and he frowns- Taehyung's pitiful whining had been a constant in the background the whole time he'd been in the room a few moments earlier.

"Taehyung?" He calls, moving closer-

A breathless hitch echoes from the cupboard and then Tae's watery voice replies, "J-Jin-Hyung?"

Aish.

"Yeah, it's me TaeTae- you doing okay in there?" Jin asks, shaking his head when he notices the broken off doorknob. Namjoon.

Taehyung's reply is still a little shaky, but less so than before, "Y-yeah? It just got quiet suddenly. Where- Where did every'ne go?"

Jin could have kicked himself. "Sorry Tae- I should have explained...I sent all the riffraff downstairs before their combined efforts managed to tip this cupboard of yours through the window or something".

Taehyungs giggle is much more comforting, as is his hasty reply, "It's not my cupboard!"

"No? How about we get you out of there then?" Jin asks, tapping the side of the cupboard with the crowbar.

Taehyungs reply is immediate and enthusiastic, "Yes! Gods, yes. "

The crowbar doesn't work quite as Jin had intended. He'd thought to wedge the metal into the gap between the door and cupboard proper, and then lever the two apart.

There is now a jagged three-foot hole in the middle of the door, the remains of which cling stubbornly to its hinges.

Jin drops the crowbar and bends down a little, looking into the darkened hole. Taehyung stares back at him, trying for wide eyed innocence, but not coming anywhere close.

His hair is a sodden tangled mess, and his skin (bare! Jin notes with concern) is goose-pimpled and mottled pink and sickly grey. He's shivering something chronic, his arms wrapped around his torso. The face that stares back is too pale, eyes huge and red rimmed, though Jin notices that while Tae's chin is trembling; his cheeks are dry. A closer look reveals chattering teeth to be the culprit.

His foot is stuck through a serrated edged hole in the floor, which is littered with what looks like several heavy volumes of "The Encyclopedia Britannica".

"Kim Taehyung, how you manage to get yourself into these situations, I will never, ever know." Jin breaths, kneeling and reaching for the trapped foot.

From above he hears a reluctant noise of agreement, followed almost immediately by a half-stifled whimper.

Jin stills his hands from the careful manoeuvres, looking up, trying to meet Taehyungs eyes when he asks "How much does it hurt? Honest Tae."

Taehyung shakes his head, "It's not that. I don't think it's very bad- there's just a sharp bit on the other side that keeps stabbing me when I move it-"

Jin walks his fingers around the edge of the hole, easily finding the sharp pointed bit- with a deft twist of his fingers, he snaps it off, and Taehyungs foot comes free.

Jin had intended to demolish a little more of the door, but Taehyung is already trying to lever himself out through the hole, and Jin hurries to grab him, "Aish, you brat! Stop- you're going to tear yourself up! Tae!"

Tae is ignoring him, so Jin changes tactics, sliding in closer and lifting, pulling Tae out through the hole carefully so that he doesn't scrape against the sharp edges of the hole. Jin lowers the slighter boy to his knees in front of him, already scolding, "That was stupid! You could have seriously-"

Tae throws himself forward and wraps his arms around Jin's middle. He's babbling into Jin's stomach. "I'm sorry! Sorry! I just- I needed out! I couldn't stand-"

Jin melts.

His hands settle on Tae's head, patting gently as he answers, "Shh. It's okay- It's okay. You're out now. I've got you. You're fine."

He knows Tae isn't claustrophobic (at least, Jin hopes he still isn't) and that the dark doesn't really bother him, but glancing at his watch, Jin realises that Taehyung has to have been in the cupboard for at least three hours, maybe longer. Being trapped in that cold, dark, dusty (Jin realises suddenly, that Tae is filthy) little space wouldn't have been pleasant for anyone. And then he'd hurt his foot and almost been tipped over, which Jin knows had to have been terrifying, especially from the vantage point of inside the cupboard, with no way of getting a bearing on what was actually happening.

The kid had held himself together remarkably well, all told. He supposed Tae was allowed a moment or two of relief driven anxiety, but he can feel that the shivering hasn't abated, if anything it's gotten worse since Jin pulled him from the cupboard.

Still petting Tae's hair, he says "How about we go get you cleaned up, into something warmer and have look at that foot?"

Teahyung nods, but doesn't make any effort to move. Jin laughs and pulls him to his feet, an arm around his waist supporting him as he leads them towards the door- adding cheekily "Besides, if we don't show up downstairs soon, the others are going to think we've both run off to Narnia!"


Jin had dropped the freshly re-showered and dressed Tae in the loungeroom, literally dropping him into Namjoon and Yoongi's laps, where the two had been sitting side-by-side on the couch.

He'd left them with strict instructions to, "Take a look at his foot, wrap him in blankets and snuggle him to death". He'd then left to take his own shower.

Namjoon had looked at Yoongi, both had shrugged, and then they'd followed Jin's orders to the letter, which is why only Tae's face is visible from the pile of blankets cuddled in between Jungkook and Jimin on the single recliner across the room when the oldest returns 10 minutes later.

"Better Tae-baby?", he asks as he walks past, brushing away the strands of hair Jungkook had liberated from the blanket cocoon and had been tickling Tae's forehead with.

Tae scrunches up his nose at the nickname and Jin grins. Normally when he uses it, Tae is in no fit state to even notice- Jin seems to usually fall back to it whenever their second youngest is in distress.

Jungkook is whispering "Tae-baby!" and giggling with relish, and Jin flicks his ear adding, "Don't tease, Kookie-baby. TaeTae's had a rough night, you be nice."

Tae snickers, but the maknae doesn't seem to mind, answering, "I know. Jimin and I are taking good care of him. Right, TaeTae?"

Like Taehyung is going to do anything other than agree with Jungkook's earnest face looking down at him from one side, and Jimin's soft smile from the other.

Jin just wants to smoosh all three of his silly maknae.

Instead, he has to stop blanket wrapped Taehyung from attempting to roll/smother Kookie to death when 'The Chronicles' of Narnia' begins to play on the movie screen.