"No. Nono. No. No. Nononononono-"

The almost inaudible whisper tumbled unchecked from his lips, infused with a desperate, agonizing disbelief. A matter of hours. He'd been hugging Jungkook just a matter of hours ago. Scolding him for not wearing enough layers. Laughing at the stupid faces he'd been pulling behind Yoongi's back.

And now Jin was supposed to be able to understand that he was just gone?

No, not gone. Jungkook wasn't coming back, he wasn't gone.

Jungkook was dead.

China crunched ominously against his palm, and he glanced down, watching as hairline cracks crawled out from beneath his fingertips to curl around the coffee mug.

With bunny teeth drawn on in black sharpie.

'Jin scrubbed at the cereal bowl (he suspected it had been under Taehyungs bed for at least a week) and mollified himself by listening with bemusement as their maknae continued to rummage through every cupboard and drawer in the small kitchen. Jin didn't know what the younger was looking for, but the petulant under-breath muttering was amusing enough that he didn't interfere. Jungkook eventually turned his perusal to Jin's precariously stacked 'waiting to be washed' pile, almost immediately snatching up a coffee mug, exclaiming with disgusted betrayal "Hyung, someone used my cup again! "

Pausing his attack on the innocent bowl to glance at the unassuming white china mug that Jungkook was proffering toward him as if to highlight the apparent evil-doers terrible misdeed, Jin raised an eyebrow, asking, "Are you sure that's-"

Jungkook didn't even let him finish, jerking the mug towards his chest as he adamantly replied, "It's mine, hyung. The handle is slightly crooked."

Jin decided against pointing out that there were at least four mugs in the discounted set that had small defects, so a bent handle was hardly an identifying feature. He also didn't mention the dozen or so other mugs of varying size, color and original ownership gathering dust in their kitchen. A master of 'picking his battles', the eldest held out a hand, "Give it here you big baby, I'll wash it for you."

As he accepted the grudgingly surrendered mug and plunged it into the sink, Jin also neglected to disclose that it just might have been the dregs of his green tea from earlier that swirled out into the water.

He handed the cup, clean and dry, back to Jungkook, nodding his chin towards the mug holding pens and pencils on the bench across the room (another bent handle), suggesting, "Write your name on it or something."

Jungkook threw an absent 'thanks, hyung' over his shoulder as he wandered away, mug suspiciously empty. Jin didn't want to know.

When he re-washed the glitter encrusted(?) mug an hour later Jin noticed the cute cartoon bunny teeth drawn on the side and had been forced to concede that the mug now had a clear owner'.

The mug with no owner shattered in his hand, liquid sloshing over his skin, morbid trails of watery brown that dripped to stain the carpet below.

To be destroyed unexpectedly, insignificantly, was the fate of discount coffee mugs.

Not cherished, beloved dongsaengs.

Jin hadn't needed to contemplate the mounting odds, hadn't needed to consider the chances...in his mind, it had been an absolute surety that at any moment they'd get a call, hear a report or see an article...

Everything would resolve itself back into an anti-climactic state of normalcy, and Jin would be able to start picking up pieces; brushing them off and putting them all back together again.

But now he'd seen it, splashed in bold black across the TV screen, unrefutably, undeniably real.

Jungkook was dead, and all the pieces had jagged torn edges that would never go back together.

Jin was torn between descending into pure denial or hanging onto reality with his fingernails by begging, pleading for it to not be true. He couldn't fathom a world where Jungkook wasn't.

His soft litany of negative refusal was punctuated only by the waves of emotion swirling and breaking around him; foaming with rage and disbelief, with hurt and fear and unadulterated agony-

- Soft light flashed intermittently in his

peripheral vision.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

- He vaguely recognized it as Taehyung's phone, the

bright yellow Pikachu case vibrating slightly against

the carpet as it rang.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

- It was 3am, Jungkook was dead and an unknown

number was calling Taehyung's phone.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

- Jin knew it was probably one of Tae's friends. It had

only been a matter of time before the general public

picked up on the black hole of devastation that their

online forums were likely becoming.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

- The remnants of the smashed mug fell away from

his hand as he dropped gracelessly to his knees,

reaching for the handphone.

Bzzzz. Bzz-

As he brought the phone to his ear, Jin heard slightly breathless giggles taper into soft expectant breaths. A chill set his skin prickling, his stomach churning uncomfortably. Who could be so sadistically cruel; he moved to hang up?-

"...Hyung?"

Seokjin had been listening to that voice calling that word for the better part of half a decade. Somehow, defying everything that had happened in the last three hours, Jeon Jungkook was on the other end of this phone line, and not even his apparent calling from beyond the grave at 3am from an unknown number could convince Jin otherwise.

Thighs turning to jelly, Jin slumped out of his half crouch to sprawl nearly boneless on the floor, one hand coming up to press shaking fingers over his eyes as his breath rasped in a wet chortling exhale.

Jungkook.

Inhaling again felt like a burst of delicious curling warmth threading through the ice chips that had invaded his bloodstream, almost painfully refreshing. The languid heaviness of relief sapped his strength; Jin didn't fight it, desperately needing a moment to grasp the sudden turn of events.

"H-hyung?", Jungkook's voice was a faint wobble, thin and reedy from the small distance Jin had let the phone drop away from his ear, but the confusion and concern were easily decipherable. Jin found a reserve of jittery energy enough to roll slightly toward his hand, bringing his cheek back into contact with the chill of the glass screen.

"Jungkook- " as desperate as he was to check that Kookie was okay (that he was fine, that he hadn't been on that plane), Jin found himself barely able to form words, his throat swollen tight, every breath thick, every word a struggle.

A sudden weight launching itself across his upper body didn't exactly help with the breathlessness; the last of his air forcefully punched from his lungs by a stray elbow.

Before Jin could make sense of the situation (Tae; passport in hand, his face blotchy and pale with tears, neon headphones in his ears, haphazardly tangled cord trailing over one shoulder) the younger was reaching for the phone with a desperate manic fervor. Jin tightened his fingers but he didn't resist when Taehyung drew his whole arm into his grasp pulling it to the side of his head, clutching at his wrist like a lifeline as he babbled through hiccupping tears.

"J-Jungkookie!? Oh my- Oh my god! Kook-ah! Jungkook- You, you- I- Why didn't you- What- Why? You- We thought, we thought- "

"Taetae-hyung?" Jungkook's quietly anxious voice interrupted, cutting off the older as easily as a shout might have, and Jin took a deep breath trying to get himself under control-

A second hand wrapped around his wrist, long fingers folding over Taehyung's and Jin looked up to meet Namjoon's glimmering eyes, the sheen of incredible relief more than visible in the glassy softness.

Taehyung only hesitated for the moment it took Namjoon to card a gentle hand through his damp hair, easing the youngers head down against Jin's chest. Taehyung melted into him, his free hand fisting into the fabric of Jin's shirt as he pressed his wet face into the material.

Namjoon pressed the speakerphone button and tension Jin hadn't even felt drained out of him as their leader spoke, "Jungkook? It's Namjoon hyung, Kook-ah. Are you okay?"

How Namjoon had kept his voice so steady Jin would never know; he could feel the way the fingers that only loosely circled his wrist trembled, could see the paleness of the younger's face, the way he was eyeing the phone with alarmingly intense focus.

"Hyung-" - a shuffling noise, followed by small inhale gasp, and Jungkook continued, "I'm- I'm fine-" The words were meant to be reassuring, but Jin was troubled by the breathy fluctuation that accompanied them.

Namjoon's hand dropped away from his wrist. Jin noticed the way the leader's fingers pressed into the carpet, kneading softly to ground himself as he repeated the question, "You're really okay? Tell me again. You're- "

Jungkook was obedient, accommodating as he echoed his answer from seconds ago "..fine. Really. Really- I'm okay, I'm- I'm-"

Jin would be more convinced and less concerned if the maknae didn't also sound on the verge of tears.

But he was alive. Jungkook was alive. Everything else was-

Nothing else mattered.

Everything else mattered.

Jungkook was alive, and Jin's askew world, blackened and charred at the edges suddenly tilted back into full technicolor reality.

Taehyung clinging to him, his one free hand ruining the fabric of Jin's pajama top, squeezing and fisting with unconscious distress.

Yoongi, barely two feet away from them, swaying listlessly where he crouched by the coffee table. His skin was a grey pasty mess, eyes rimmed in red and bottom lip bruised by teeth. Jin could tell he was listening to the phone call, but there was no belief in his glassy unfocused eyes.

Jimin-

Jimin was curled into the couch, only his shoulders and plane of his back visible. Jin could hear the smothered sobbing; anxious, devastated, broken- Jimin lost in the seeming disintegration of his world,

For a moment he couldn't see Hoseok and Jin's heart stuttered heavily in his chest, mind imagining gaping front doors and recklessness born of devastation. But there; draped in shadow in the corner of the room. He was still, statuesque even, eyes scrunched closed, clenched fists pressed over his ears.

And Namjoon. Trembling faintly, both physically and audibly, his voice husky and faint as he spoke softly into the phone, "...ssed your flight?"

"Y-yes, hyung-", Jungkook replied, and Jin recognized that little upward lilt that Jungkook flowed into at the end of a word when he wanted to ask something. Jin knew logically, that Jungkook was okay, hadn't been involved in the plane crash. Wasn't hurt. But he couldn't get the possibility out of his head. Without Jungkook's voice in one ear, small and hesitant though it was, he was left with just devil's advocate in the other - "Plane Crash. No survivors".

And regardless of him being 'fine', their maknae was upset and alone, hundreds of kilometers away.

Jin had to pull himself together; ignore the way his heart still seemed to be beating irregularly, fluttering in his chest with each word through the phone speaker, disregard the way his eyes kept threatening to well with each wobble of Jungkook's voice.

He had hyung things to do.

Curling his arm (that he didn't remember wrapping over Tae's shoulder) tighter, Jin jostled Namjoon's arm slightly, speaking quietly, "Keep him talking for me, Joon-ah. I need to-", at a loss for words, Jin gestured to the room in general.

Namjoon glanced up briefly and seemed to startle slightly when he took in the state of his fellow band member. He moved to stand, but Jin stopped him by pressing the phone into his hand, speaking under his breath, "I've got them- you take Tae and Kookie".

He indicated for Namjoon to 'take Tae' in the literal sense; the complete lack of space between them, (as well as the death-grip Jin could feel stretching his top,) speaking of more than just Taehyung's baby-koala inclinations. Jin wasn't in the habit of pushing away dongsaengs in need, even if it was just the need for a hug.

Thankfully he had Joon.

Carefully pushing himself into something resembling a sitting position, pulling Taehyung upright as he went, Jin pitched his voice deliberately low as he spoke "Hey Tae, how about you stay here with Joon-ah while I get the others? Keep Jungkookie distracted?"

Given such an important task Taehyung readily transferred his limpet hold from Jin when the older leaned in closer to Namjoon, sliding across the floor to curl into the leader's side when he lifted his arm welcomingly. The second youngest was already chatting to Kookie, "...is it busy? Are there reporters?"

Vaguely hearing Jungkook reply in the background (It was enough. It would be enough) Jin stood slowly, throwing his gaze around the darkened room with a sudden sense of being torn in several directions at once, unable to tell which might be more important.

Jimin; tears nowhere near muffled enough to hide the anguished heartache saturating them.

Yoongi; seemingly unable to believe he'd woken from the nightmare his life had suddenly become.

Hoseok; tortured by some excruciating whim of his own unbridled emotions; unable to dampen, understand or filter the anger, the fear. The pain.

In the end, Yoongi was the closest.

Jin dropped to his knees beside the coffee table, Yoongi swiveling his head to meet his eyes with an eerily unfocused stare, "Hyung?"

Jin was frankly surprised by the fact that the younger was even aware of that much; Yoongi looked half empty; as if something vitally 'Min Yoongi' had fled at the possibility of having to accept losing Jungkook at all, let alone in such a horrifically unexpected way.

Jin hoped it was still there to find.

"Yeah, it's me." Yoongi raised a judgmental eyebrow and Jin winced. Not gone then, just... afraid?

"He's okay, Yoongi. Jungkook. He's really okay. He's on the phone right now." Jin explained, gesturing to where Tae and Namjoon were huddled over the handset, Tae having migrated practically into his hyungs lap.

Jin could still hear Jungkook, picking up every second or third word clearly enough to settle the voice that urged him to yank the phone out of Namjoon's hand.

Yoongi could obviously hear as well, but his murmured reply was a non-committal, "Yeah."

And Jin could see that Yoongi was aware of the phone call, had probably overheard most of the conversation, but-

Yoongi knew, but he didn't know.

Didn't believe.

"Okay, we need to... Come on, up we go-" Jin prompted, wrapping an arm around Yoongi's chest to lever them both upright, half leading, half carry the younger the few steps across the room-

Before dropping them both inelegantly to the carpet on Namjoon's far side.

Both Namjoon and Tae glanced up at their arrival, Namjoon frowning in concern at Yoongi's disjointed state. Jin shook his head calmingly, smiling slightly at the way Taehyung, now dry-eyed, had curled himself against Namjoon's chest, the top of his head tucked up under the older's chin.

It had to be an uncomfortable scrunch for both, but neither seemed to mind; the phone still clutched carefully between their two hands-

Speaking of, Jin spoke leaned toward the phone, speaking slightly louder, "Hey, Kook-sweetheart? Talk to your Yoongi-hyung-"

"Yoongi-hyung? " Jungkook's excited voice echoed into the silence of the room and Jin felt Yoongi stiffen against him, the rapper staring at the phone like it would disappear if he took his eyes off it.

"Heya, brat. Guess you've had an interesting night." And somehow, despite the way he'd started trembling like a leaf, he sounded so absolutely unaffected, so absolutely Suga that Jin had to stifle an inappropriately timed laugh-

Left in the clutches of his dongsaengs, Yoongi would be fine.

Jimin next.


Crouched next to the couch, Jin tentatively reached out a hand, settling it between Jimin's shoulder blades, rubbing gently as he leaned forward, brushing sweat dampened hair away from Jimin's upturned ear. "Jiminie. Jiminie, baby-"

Jimin didn't even acknowledge him, too caught up in devastation, but Jin could feel the way his chest was heaving with each gasping sob, his hysterical gasps more tears than breath, and Jin gave up on the gentle approach and simply wrapped an arm around the younger's waist and tugged.

Jimin was limp, ragdoll-like as he allowed himself to be dragged bonelessly upright, slumped against the back of the sofa like an abandoned marionette. His tears took on a jagged quality now that Jin could hear them properly, each one torn from his lungs instead of desperately needed breath.

Jin reached out, his palms cradling Jimin's cheeks, dragging the youngers face up, their eyes meeting, "He's okay Jimin-ah. He's fine. Jungkook's okay. Jimin? Jimin-ah?"

Jin wasn't entirely sure Jimin was even aware that he was there, and he squeezed the dancers face, giving him a gentle shake as he demanded more firmly, 'listen and heed me' hyung voice in full bloom as he commanded Jimin's attention, " Park Jimin. Listen to me- "

Jimin blinked, breath hitching mid-sob as his soul seemed to seep back into his body-

Jin didn't waste any time- "Jungkook's okay. He's okay. Jimin. Jiminie. Jimi-"

Breath hitching with unchecked teary sobs, Jimin licked his lips, wrinkling his nose at what was probably the salty taste of tears; his voice a barely there gasp as he faltered, "..H-hyung? He's- He's not-"

Jin nodded again, one hand swiping over damp cheeks as he replied, "He's fine. He's fine. Breathe, baby. Breathe-"

Rolling forward eagerly to hook his hands over Jin's shoulders, Jimin knelt precariously on the couch to drag himself closer as he demanded reassurance, "Jungkook?"

"Yeah, yeah baby- he's on the phone- listen..." Jin repeated, Jungkook's quiet echoing voice filtering into the silence created by his request as if by divine intervention.

Jin was unsurprised when Jimin burst back into tears and threw his arms around his neck.

These tears were different though, softer, no jagged uncontrolled edges or gasping breaths at every tail-end. Just - unbelievable, incomprehensible relief.

Wrapping his own arms around Jimin's waist, Jin squeezed tightly, wishing he could sit here and rock back and forth as long as the younger needed, but -

Hoseok.

Gesturing toward the trio against the far wall, Jin started, "I think Yoongi-hyung could use some maknae hugs if you're-"

Jimin was halfway across the room before Jin could work out what he'd been about to say next.


Hoseok.

But unlike Hoseok as Jin had ever seen him.

He was still in the corner of the room, where shadow seemed to caress natural darkness, creating a greasy grey that seemed to cling to the younger's skin.

No sunshine to be seen.

Jin shuddered; the whole situation was wrong of course. This sort of loss, unexpected and brutally vicious, wasn't something any of them were more readily able to handle, reducing them all to barely functioning imitations of heartache and grief.

But Hoseok-

Anger was far kinder than fear. Than grief.

Jin would admit to having been more self-focused than wholly aware of the surrounding situation of the past half hour, but Hoseok's rage was vivid in his mind, an undercurrent that echoed his own suppressed feelings all too well.

Only Hoseok hadn't been suppressed; his rage had burned with the same unrestrained intensity that he seemed to experience every nuance of life with.

And now-

What to do with rage that had no cause, no reason?

Jin stilled by Hoseok's side, considering what to say, how to help-

" Hobi? Hoseokie? He didn't get on the plane. Hobi?"

Hoseok blinked once and smiled, a horrid stretch of thinned lips fighting a tremble, a wobbly chuckle on his breath as he replied "I know. I know. "

He dropped his hands from where they'd been pressed over his ears and turned toward the phone call, Jin easily picking up the gentle timbre of Jungkook's voice from across the room, words indecipherable through the phone, but easily heard.

"Hyung?" the whispered word was part whimper, part plea, and not at all angry. Jin moved, wrapping his arms around Hoseok as tightly as he could as the younger dissolved into painful tears.

"Sorry. I'm s-sorry- I don't know why I-" Hoseok rasped between gasping breaths, not fighting Jin's hold, but not reciprocating the hug either.

Jin rocked them side to side slightly, tutting him with gently scolding disapproval, "Hey, hey now - none of that. This whole night- This has been…God Hoseok, one of the- No. The worse experience of my life. Feel whatever you feel; you have a right to."

Hoseok didn't relax, but his arms did find their way up between them to wrap around his stomach in a self-hug, and Jin figured that was better than ignoring his own vulnerability completely.

"Seriously, babe- you're fine. Give it time to settle. To fade a little- don't try and decipher it while you're so raw. Do you-"

Jin paused when Hoseok pressed his forehead against his shoulder, his skin warm and damp against Jin's own, speaking quietly, "I don't want to talk to him. I'll- I might yell at him or- I'm just so angry hyung, and it's not his fault- "

Well, we haven't fully assessed where blame might lie in this whole situation, Jin thought, wondering briefly at the hours spent worrying in which a phone call could have avoided everything. Or why Taehyungs phone said 'unknown number' when Jungkook had a perfectly working handphone.

For now, though, Jin could only focus on the tremble he could hear in the maknae's voice from clear across the room.

"Come on, I think you at least need to hear him properly-" Jin prompted, guiding Hoseok across the room, just catching the tail end of the conversation as they approached.

"...Hyung- I-I want to come home- I want y- I don't want to "

Hoseok whimpered against his collarbone, pulling away to reach for the hone; Namjoon relinquishing it easily-

"Hey, hey baby, of course, you can come home- " Hoseok rumbled gently and Jin's chest physically ached.

So much for such irrational anger, Jung Hoseok.

Not that Jin blamed the younger, he too could hear whatever thread of calm responsibility Jungkook had been maintaining starting to slip away. The tiny hesitant voice of the Jungkook who used to try to hide the fact he was crying at night echoing loudly in the soft voice transmitted through the speaker.

Injecting himself back into the conversation, Jin backed Hoseok's assurance, "Oh, honey... Sejin-hyung should almost be there. He drove to Gimhae, baby- he'll get you home as soon as he can- "

"Sejin-hyung!" Namjoon suddenly exclaimed pulling from the huddle slightly to reach for his own phone on the floor beside the coffee table, "I

need to call him."

Ad Jin realized that for the first time, they probably knew something their manager didn't. Something hugely important.

The phone rang twice, three times, four- and Jin wondered if perhaps their manager wasn't going to answer, - and then a sudden click-

"Namjoon-ah? I've j- just arrived at the airport-I've just got to go in. Can I- Can I call you back?" Sejin's voice through the speaker was painfully raw, reserved in a way that spoke of a vice grip on overwhelming emotions. Sejin-hyung knew. Had heard the news and knew that Jungkook was dead.

Namjoon was quick to stop the man from hanging up, "Hyung- wait! Wait. Jungkoo- Are you stopped?" he suddenly interrupted himself, and Jin nodded his understanding. This wasn't the sort of news to deliver to someone driving, especially someone who was already in a state of distress.

Sejin didn't answer immediately, only his breathing revealed that he was still on the other end of the call, and Namjoon repeated, "Sejin-hyung? Have you parked yet?"

As if realizing he couldn't put it off any longer, Sejin finally replied, "Yes. I'm parked."

Namjoon, unable to wait even a second more, blurted out, "Jungkook's fine!"

"Namjoon-ah-" The last was almost a sigh of hurt infused with pain and loss and Jin couldn't bear the thought a moment longer.

Neither it seemed, could Yoongi, the rapper finally speaking up properly and taking some initiative for the first time since Jin had dragged him across to the group, "Hyung, Jungkook missed the flight. We're speaking to him in the phone right now. He's okay! He's - he's okay."

Jin smiled when he saw Jimin mouthing the words to himself, 'okay. He's okay',

The line was silent for a minute and then, a deep shuddering breath was heard, "H-he's..."

"Fine! He's okay!" Taehyung repeated, if rather enthusiastically.

Sejin's choked laugh sounded suspiciously wet as he huffed another breath, "He's okay. He's - I was so- I thought. I just heard on the news- he's really okay? "

"Yes, hyung-nim, I'm fine. I'm really-" and that was Jungkook's voice filtering from Taehyung's phone, tinny and fuzzy and too real to be anything else.

"...Aish, Jungkook-ah... I'm really, really happy you're okay. I'm really- I was so- " Their manager took an audible breath to collect himself and the continued, "I'm at the airport, where are you? I'll come to you."

"I'm- I'm in one of the 'staff only' area's I think I'll have to come- " Jungkook trailed off as another further away voice filtered through, barely audible " ...wait here. ...Someone to meet your frien- Reporters are building up, safer-"

And then Jungkook's voice again, slightly clearer, but still not speaking into the phone, "Oh- Thankyou. That would be- Thanks." and then Jungkook's voice was much louder, speaking directly to them again, "Hyung-nim? Someone will meet you near the check-in station at gate 23. "

"Did you get that Sejin-hyung?" Namjoon questioned, unsure that the two phone relay system was the clearest way of communicating.

He needn't have worried, Sejin replying, "I'm just coming inside now. I'm at gate 11, so I'm not far away kiddo- "

Sejin's voice seemed to drop in volume a little as he spoke again, "Namjoon-ah, Jin-ah- guys...what do you want to do? I can organize the next flight to Japan, or-"

"Kookie wants to-" Jin started, an echo seeming to trail after him as Jungkook spoke through the phone at the same time-

"I- I just want to go home, hyung-"

"Okay. Okay - that's fine. We can get you home. Joon, I can drive him or there's a flight in- just under an hour?"

Namjoon looked up, catching Jin's eyes. Jin didn't know what the younger found there, what deliberating he was unknowingly taking place in, but Namjoon seemed to find what he needed and replied, "Fly, Sejin-hyung. I- we can't wait another five hours."

And Jin suddenly realized that Kookie was about to get on another plane when the last he'd been meant to be on seemed to have all but fallen from the sky. No Survivors.

But the alternative was five or six more hours of waiting. Jin honestly didn't think he could do it. And they were idols; developing or encouraging a fear of flying wasn't something they could easily work around.

Jungkook would fly home. It would be better in the long term. (Jin wasn't thinking about the short term.)

Jungkook was-

"...hyung? I don't want to fly." His voice was tiny, a whisper of fear and unspoken panic, and it was all Jin needed to remember that Jungkook should have died in a plane crash earlier that night. And that Jungkook undoubtedly knew that as well.

Sejin must have caught that as well, speaking softly, "I'll fly with you Jungkook-ah. You won't be alone. I'll go with you. Would that be okay?"

"I just-" he wasn't arguing, but his tearfully wobbly voice didn't sound convinced.

Jimin, sounding like his head was full of cotton wool, so obviously apparent that he'd been- not just crying, but sobbing, voice still thick with heavy tears, implored, - "Kookie-ah, can you do it for hyung? ...I - I really need to see you. "

"Me too-" And that was Hoseok, echoed by Yoongi-

Jungkook didn't answer immediately, and that more than anything worried Jin; there were very few things that Jeon Jungkook wouldn't do at the behest of his hyungs.

"Can you video call, Kookie?" Tae suddenly interrupted quietly, and at least three of them leaned forward eagerly at the suggestion.

"Sorry, hyung- I'm- I'm on a landline. I'm okay though. I can fly. I'll fly- I wasn't even- Nothing happened. I can do it-" Jungkook babbled softly, his voice stuttering on the final word and Jin bit his lip; he could hear the reluctance, the bravado in the youngest's voice.

"Okay - okay baby - that's good. You'll be fine. Sejin-hyung will be with you the whole way, and we'll be waiting when you get home- okay?" Namjoon soothed.

Jin felt his own heart rate slow a little, nerves and anxiety settling slightly and was once again reminded why Namjoon was their leader.

Sejin interrupted the beat of silence as if he'd been waiting patiently for it, "I'm just being shown in now Kook-ah. Joon-ah, guys- I have to turn off my handphone though; it's a restricted area. I'll try to get Kook-ah to video-call you on my phone before our flight, but the attendant is going to board us immediately because of the media presence…we might not get a chance. I'll call as soon as we land though. Oh, I've got to hang up now-"

Namjoon was nodding, although Sejin couldn't see it, as he replied "Thanks hyung. Really, thank you. Talk to you soo- "

The phone call dropped out, and Namjoon put his phone down-

"I think I've got to go too-" Jungkook started before the sound of the handset dropping to the table echoed from the phone in Hoseok's hand, and the distant sound of rustling clothing-

"I've got you- shh, I've got you." Sejin was murmuring, heard over the sound of badly muffled tears.

Seokjin had never been so envious in all his life; it physically hurt.