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justbelievinginmagic · 3 years

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I Need U - Chapter 9: ended up at the sea

a hyyh au / bangtan universe au ft oc x taehyung, oc x seokjin, yoongi x jungkook, ot7 & oc being pals.

series summary: Song Nari wanted to go home. Tired from working her part-time job after school, the last thing she wanted was to be sitting in traffic late at night. But her life is forever changed by seven delinquents who decided that tonight was the night to cause a traffic jam and havoc.

chapter summary: Eight figures were sitting on a truck, silhouetted by the golden glow of the sunset. It almost looked like they were frozen in time.

tags/warnings: trauma responses, implied/referenced abuse, soft moments, platonic cuddles, mentions of hospitalization.

wordcount: around 5k

series’ masterlist

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June 12th was the day she’d been waiting for. A sea day. It had been Seokjin’s idea. A day to sit in the sun and enjoy the sea breeze. Drive the truck around. Cause trouble.

Sure, the boys would probably smoke or drink too, but she was more than happy to sit in the back of the car with them and talk about nonsense. School was overwhelming as usual – even with break approaching slowly but surely.

It was early in the morning when she joined Namjoon at the gas station near her family’s apartment. The sky was a purple color; the sun breaking over the horizon still an inkling for the heavens. Namjoon had promised that they’d walk together to Seokjin’s. Her car was unreliable he told her.

It was cold still – without the sun’s rays, the air wasn’t humid yet, and it took on a chill instead. She didn’t know how Namjoon could stand it, standing in his Nirvana tee-shirt. Nari had her favorite sweatshirt on – the pink one that had gotten stained by the paint Tae used on her car that night.

“Good morning,” Nari greeted, tugging her sweatshirt down over her hands.

“Morning, Nari-ah,” he mumbled. His eyes were sleepy. A hand ran through his bleached blonde hair, messily. His neck ached. He had stayed up with his father at the hospital the night before. She didn’t need to know that though.

“I can’t believe you bleached your hair,” she mentioned again, staring at it.

“Yoongi bleached his, too,” he reminded her with a soft smile, nodding towards the road as they began to walk together.

“No more blue hair,” she pouted, remembering the platinum blonde hair Yoongi now sported. “All three of you changed,” it was said in a tut.

She had liked their hair colors. Jimin was easy to spot with his sunset hair and, now, seeing him with dark hair was a bit startling at times. Namjoon’s pink locks made him look bashful and kind – even when he smirked over a crude joke or snuck into an alley way to hide from the police. Yoongi’s icicle blue hair fitted him too well, a visual warning to others how icy he could be at first meetings. Of course, that was just a façade just like the dye.

“It’s your turn to be a rebel,” he commented, hand going to tug at her short locks. “I personally think neon green would look amazing.” He said it dramatically with sarcasm lacing his words. It made her snort.

“Very funny.” Nari nudged him with her hip.

Their walk consisted of jokes and light conversation; this was supposed to be a fun day; neither wanted to focus on hardships. Namjoon and Nari’s relationship didn’t focus on the tough parts of life. They knew they were struggling. It was too hard to speak about things sometimes. So, they hid behind things that were simple. A façade of being okay was their shared game. Their smiles remained genuine despite that.

They arrived at the high school’s parking lot with the sun. The gates were locked up and the parking lot was abandoned except for a lone familiar truck. It must’ve been ticking towards six am judging by how the sun was just peaking over the treetops. Her fingertips and nose had been a rosy color from cold air, leading to her eventually snuggling more and more towards Namjoon as they walked; thankfully, the sun’s rays had begun to warm the girl up.

Seokjin’s truck was quiet in the morning air. The trunk bed was open with the familiar stained blanket covering the cold bottom of the metal. That wasn’t it though. Jimin was already curled up in the trunk bed, with his hoodie’s hood thrown over his head and a blanket tucked around him. His eyes were shut. As the pair walked up to the car, the girl tugged the blanket higher on his form, tucking it under his chin.

“Thanks, Nari,” Jimin mumbled, breath visible in the early morning air. “Morning,” his voice was rumbly with sleep.

“Good morning, Chim,” she greeted softly, hand resting on his head fondly. He didn’t even give a fuss, head lolling to lean against his shoulder sleepily. She chuckled before moving towards the driver’s side.

“Nari, you get the back, too,” Seokjin called from his spot in the driver’s seat. Her brows crinkled.

“Good morning to you, too, Seokjin-oppa,” she replied, walking towards the two older men who were talking. Namjoon’s back was against the back-passenger door as he spoke to Seokjin. The eldest’s head tilted out of the driver door’s window as she approached them.

“Youngest in the truck bed today,” he explained furthermore.

Seokjin looked excited despite the tiredness clinging to the corners of his eyes. His plump lips were set in a near permanent smile, making his cheeks look pillow-y and soft. It was nice to see him so happy.

Nari nodded easily. Peering around him, she saw Hoseok and Yoongi in the backseat. The older one was asleep, too. She could tell by the soft snores that left the Yoongi’s lips and the way his face was completely calm. He looked soft like a marshmallow. Hoseok, meanwhile, sent her a silent wave. She grinned, wiggling her fingers at him.

“Good morning,” she said, gently as if raising her voice anymore would wake the bleached blonde.

“Waiting on two more,” Namjoon sighed, glancing towards the street. “I’m surprised Jungkook is late,” he commented.

“Taehyung probably was up all-night graffitiing,” she added with a chuckle.

Seokjin reached over to the empty passenger seat to pick up his camera. Wordlessly, he gestured for Namjoon and Nari to get closer together as he snapped a photo of them. The polaroid camera’s flash blinded her for a moment.

“Will you let us take photos of you today?” she countered, reaching out with a grabby hand towards the polaroid camera.

Seokjin laughed, his ever-present quirking lips not leaving his face.

“Maybe,” he yielded.

Her brows perked up in interest. Her grin was comparable to the sunshine streaming over them.

“Really?” she felt like she won the lottery. “This is a special day.”

Seokjin’s laughter was bright and screechy like the windshield wipers of her car trying to scrape over her damaged glass windshield.

“Don’t leave, hyung!” She heard a voice call out.

The group of three turned their gazes towards the voice. Jungkook was running; Taehyung wasn’t far behind – though he looked far more exhausted.

“Jungkookie,” Seokjin called out. “We were just about to leave.” It was a tease.

“Sorry for being late,” he was huffing a bit as he finally reached the car. Leaning over, his hands pressed against his knees as he took in gulps of air. Taehyung was panting as well, but he didn’t pause in running. Using his momentum, he hopped up onto the truck bed with a loud thud.

“Tae,” Jimin complained, hiding his face into the fabric of his hoodie.

“He’s a fucking punk,” Nari could hear the quiet but lethal tone of Yoongi from inside the car. Peering around Seokjin, she saw Yoongi’s eyes open and looking like a snake’s. His tired anger palpable even as Hobi cooed over him. Hoseok always managed to soothe any of the group into a better mood – even the ever-grumpy platinum blonde. It made Nari laugh, leaning towards Namjoon’s side in her giggles.

Taehyung’s face was bright despite the tiredness that lingers under his eyes and sweat gleaming on his forehead, plastering strands of his shaggy hair against his skin. Plopping down on the opposite side of Jimin, he offered the elder boy a quiet sorry. The way his eyes glimmer revealed it wasn’t that much of an apology.

Jungkook is still heaving a bit from his run, beads of sweat forming at his hairline. Namjoon patted his back as he moved to go to the passenger side door on the other side of the car.

“Truckbed, Jungkookie,” he said. Namjoon’s gaze met Nari’s and included her as well. “Nari.”

“Yeah,” the youngest boy managed out between breaths.

“Shit, did you run the entire way?” she commented passing him after Namjoon.

“Woke up late,” he mumbled.

Her lips pouted a bit at how out of breath he sounded. Did he think they’d leave without him?

“Take a nap in the back with Jimin,” Nari told him. It was less of a suggestion and more of a command. Hell, she knew Taehyung would end up falling asleep too.

Jungkook let out a small laugh before finally straightening up and climbing into the truck bed with the lone girl.

Namjoon pushed the truck’s trunk into the locked position as soon as they were in.

“Don’t freeze. Or fall out of the car,” he warned. Ever the big brother.

Taehyung replied with a click of his tongue and a wink towards the older before tugging at Nari’s waist, bringing her closer to his side. His touch never failed to make her heart race a bit. His head nuzzled against her shoulder.

“What time?” she asked.

“Got back around five am,” Taehyung mumbled.

“Damn, Tae,” she sighed, leaning back more so he could get comfortable on her shoulder. Their Facetime, a now common occurrence between them, ended around 1 am.

There is a rumble as the car started up, and a soft chill as they began their journey. Jungkook easily pressed his head against her stomach as Taehyung wrapped both of his arms around the arm closest to him. Jimin was already snoring softly.

“Alright, get some sleep you two,” Nari sighed, her free hand mussing Jungkook’s hair.

Taehyung smiled against her shoulder. He wished he stayed awake long enough to feel her fingertips drag through his hair next.

Nari did not sleep during the ride despite the warmth Jungkook and Taehyung provided, lulling her towards slumber.

Taehyung’s grasp on her never failed while Jungkook eventually snuggled into Jimin’s side instead of her’s. If she listened closely enough – over the rap playing inside the car – she could make out Hoseok and Yoongi talking.

Nari felt calm. Like she could breathe easy. Taehyung’s nose brushed against the bare skin of her neck as he nuzzled into her even more. There was a familiarity here. An ease. Being with them felt like she was home.

She didn’t know it just yet – and when she finally did, it’d be gone.

The salt breeze against her face was the thing to make her nudge Taehyung off her with a light jab of her elbow.

He flinched far harder than he should’ve, awakening with a start.

“We’re here!” she’s beaming bright. The salt water spray tickled her nose. Pushing herself up onto her knees using Taehyung’s and Jungkook’s thighs as leverage, Nari tried to glance out over the sea shore.

“Careful, Nari-ah,” Jungkook was the one to worry this time. His hands went to steady her waist before she tumbled from the car’s movement. There was a reason Namjoon warned for them to not fall out of the car. And for once, it wasn’t because the boys would do something stupid – it was because Nari got way too excited about the ocean.

She hadn’t seen the ocean since childhood.

“Jungkookie,” her hands went to grasp at the hands on her waist, squeezing them tightly. Her form was buzzing with a light they hadn’t seen in months. It tugged them out of their sleepiness like moths to a flame.

“It’s so pretty,” her eyes hadn’t left the glimmering sea they were approaching. Jimin giggled a little at her before the car went over a bump, and she lurched forward. He leaned forward to place a hand on her shoulder to steady her alongside Jungkook.

“Okay, we’re going to see it all day, relax.” Jimin warned. “Please.”

Nari rolled her eyes a bit before plopping down on her bum, letting go of Jungkook’s hands. Sitting in front of them, she crossed her legs and peered around the side of the car still.

She could see Namjoon’s eyes in the side mirror’s reflection, watching to make sure they were okay in the trunk.

The way the car slid against the wet sand felt dangerous. The way she was pressing into Jungkook’s side as they tumbled around in the truck’s open trunk felt dangerous. Yet she was laughing loud, fingers clinging to one of the boys to try to steady herself.

This was the first thing Seokjin did when they ended up on the sandy shores of the seaside. It was out of character for him (maybe Hoseok convinced him to do so) yet she didn’t care when she was thrown into Taehyung’s chest, laughter muffled by the yellow tee shirt he wore.

Jungkook was the first one to stand in the trunk – despite scolding her earlier for moving to her knees.

The hoots and hollers echoed through the empty seaside. The spray and splash of salt water dusted over their forms as the car swerved again in the sand.

“Be careful,” Nari cried out as Jimin joined Jungkook in standing, waving his hoodie in the air like it was a flag.

Taehyung didn’t stand instead he wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to keep a hold of her as they slid about on the blankets. Giggles poured from their lips and she clung to his forearms.

He just wanted an excuse to stay close to her.

“I wish I brought a swim suit,” she commented, embracing the wind that tousled their hair.

The boys had begun to do races betting meager things like instant ramyeon or bags of chips or rides to school. She propped a leg up on the truck bed as she watched Seokjin filming the race, commentating dramatically. She let out a laugh.

“It’s muggy enough to swim,” Yoongi commented shedding his hoodie and plopping down next to her. His hand fluffed his blonde hair, the sound of his bleached hair crinkling in the wind.

His knees were sandy from tripping while racing against Hoseok; the more active of the two winning easily. The pair watched as Jungkook and Taehyung raced now.

“Next time we will go swimming,” he stated simply.

It made her smile to think they’d go to the beach again like this.

“I see a crab!” Namjoon called out, his tone light and excited like a child. He was currently squatting down in the shallows of the beach, his knees dangerously close to the water as he dug through the muddy sand. It was a change for Namjoon. He often times was too serious. There was something about him that screamed mature whether it was his watchful eyes or his dirty jokes. However, as he was knelt in the warm sunlight, hands sandy and an innocent smile on his lips, he looked his age for once. A kid.

His hand clapped down on the sand, capturing the crab he had spotted.

“I want to see!” Nari called out. She was currently being used as an obstacle for the races. The fastest – whom they determined was Jungkook – had to carry her on his back for the next race against Seokjin. She wiggled a bit on his back, trying to hop off - despite his hold on her legs.

“Noona,” he whined out, adjusting his hold the best he could. “I’m gonna lose.” He was slowing – habitually – to make sure his friend didn’t plummet to her sandy doom.

“Run faster, so you win then!” she jested; her hands slapped down on his shoulders lightly before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Hurry. I want to see the crab before Namjoon loses it!”

“I won’t lose it!” she heard Namjoon cry out behind her.

“Go Kookie!” she encouraged.

He was fast. It was shocking when the shyest boy in the group was the most athletic of the bunch. He was stronger than she thought. He was huffing and puffing, arms straining to keep his noona on his back as he raced faster and faster.

“Jungkooookie!” Hoseok’s voice rang out in surprise, the tone of his voice dropping into his dialect.

It was only moments later when Jungkook - past the car – their makeshift finish line.

“He’s truly the fastest,” Taehyung jeered, a playful smile in his eyes as he put Seokjin’s video camera in the youngest’s reddening face. Nari quickly hopped off his back, hands patting his back lightly; Jungkook was huffing and puffing quite a bit.

“Okay, I owe you a bag of chips,” Seokjin told Jungkook as he finally caught up and patted the youngest on the shoulder.

He rose a thumbs up in agreement as he struggled to catch his breath.

The lone girl offered the video camera a smile; it was bright enough it made her eyes shut a bit before rushing off towards the others by the seashore. Jimin and Namjoon were squatting looking at the discovery the older found.

“Joonie!” She beamed. “Minnie!” Her arms went around their necks as she peered in between them. Jimin’s face flushed at the nickname. Namjoon’s ears burned a bit, but he was too focused on his discovery.

“Look at it,” he cooed softly at the small crab in the palm of his hand. The crab was still covered in big blobs of wet sand.

“It’s so little,” Nari hummed, her index finger going to brush off some sand from its back shell.

The shell had a blue-ish hue, a marbled effect in the surface. It was pretty.

“Is it going to pinch your hand, hyung?” Jimin queried after a moment as the crab scurried this way and that way on Namjoon’s large palm. “It looks angry.”

“We did take him from his home,” Nari joked.

“I want to keep him,” Namjoon nearly whined. It was cute how he cared for the little thing. It was endearing to see Namjoon acting like this.

The crab did pinch at Namjoon’s fingertips now, making him flinch and flick the creature off his hand with a yelp.

The trio yelled in unison, jumping in shock. They scrambled back a bit. Nari landed on her bum in the wet sand as Namjoon flicked his hand back and forth.

“Namjoon-hyung!” Jimin exclaimed trying to find the little crab.

They hoped the crab flew into the water because they couldn’t find him anymore.

“Seokjin-oppa never lets this camera out of his sight,” she commentated, holding the video camera. From her spot atop the truck’s trunk, she scanned the camera across the scenic view before zero-ing on Seokjin.

“There he is in his natural habitat, the Jin.”

He was currently, playing around and taking selfies with the boys. She initially had run off to grab a sweatshirt – Jimin offered his that was crumpled in the backseat of the truck. But when she spotted the camera, she couldn’t resist.

“Pretending he is worldwide handsome among his friends. What pose will they pick? A peace sign – very original.” She commentated as if her friends posing was the most interesting activity.

Nari zoomed in dramatically. Under her breath, she began to chant his name, “Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin,” to the tune of an action theme.

“This may be his camera but you need to remember what you looked like, oppa,” she teased the future Seokjin. “For when you’re a grumpy old man.”

She turned the camera back to the horizon for a moment before it trailed over Jimin and Hoseok. Her focus zoomed in on Taehyung hugging Yoongi – the elder pulling an exasperated face.

“Its June 12th. This is my first time going to the beach in a long time. Currently, plotting to push one of the guys into the water. Without getting on their bad side. I don’t think it’ll work out. Maybe Tae – for payback about the spray-painted windshield. But also, Jin would be a good pick. Again, payback for being mean about the blanket.” Nari continued to report until one of the boys notice her in the distance.

“Riri’s got hyung’s camera,” Hoseok knelled out.

“Nari!”

The video gets abruptly cut off with a feminine giggle as she dropped it on the blanket covered truck bed.

“You almost broke it!” You could hear Seokjin’s complain loudly as he ran towards the video camera. There was an unflattering shot of his double chin until the footage cut to black.

Nari had opted to take her shoes off, bare feet padding against dampened sand. Sneakers dangled from her hand as the group walked along.

“You know, when I was little, I heard a story about a wish granting rock at this beach,” Hoseok prompted.

“Yeah?” Jungkook raised a brow, his doe-like eyes doubtful.

Yeah, he had. The ladies at the orphanage liked to tell it to the little kids. He had told the story countless times by now. And now he told his friends.

After five minutes of Hoseok’s rambles, she got the gist of the story. There is a large boulder with odd formations into its surface. Some saw flowers; other saw mazes; some even said they saw words. The sea carved it out with purpose, and with it came magic. It could grant dreams if you whispered it to the rock. Some said what people saw in the formations are stories of things that came true.

When his story was over, the group let out a joint hum.

“Stupid,” Yoongi muttered out.

With a well-placed swat of her shoes to his bum, Nari let out a scolding ‘hey’ that would put Seokjin’s scolds to shame.

“I think it’s cute.” She stated.

“That’s because you have a dream, Nari,” Yoongi replied, a hand rubbing his butt a bit. He actually pouted a smidge. The blonde was getting soft for the lone girl in the group. He knew it, so did the other boys.

“You guys have dreams,” she sighed out slinging her shoes back over her shoulder, holding them by their tangled shoelaces.

“They’re not much,” Jungkook muttered out with a sigh.

“They’re dreams though,” she encouraged.

“Is having a dream good enough though?” Hoseok was the one to pipe up. “Even if it’s not good one.”

Namjoon was the one to sigh out, his arm slinging over the dark-haired man’s shoulder.

“I think so, Hobi,” he said. “Dreams don’t really matter, so it’s good enough.”

Ah, so everything was meaningless. Great. Namjoon needed to stop reading that philosophy Instagram page she saw him follow.

Nari rolled her eyes at Namjoon’s somberness.

“Not because of that,” she scolded again.

“I just want to make it through life,” Jimin commented. “Is that even a dream?”

No. Not really. Or was it? Who judged dreams? Couldn’t a dream be anything – even mundane?

“We’re almost to it,” Hoseok commented. “If I remember correctly.”

A few moments later they rounded the cliffside only to see a construction site. Rubble of rocks and dirt heaped onto the shore. Green tarped fences outlined the perimeter. The beginning of a lookout post, a jumble of metal poles and bolts laid on the ground in a pile.

No rock with magic powers.

“It should be here, at the end of the beach,” Hoseok mumbled. He was actually dejected. He had heard about the rock for years. It was gonna be fun to see it. The kids at the orphanage would’ve loved it.

“It would’ve been here,” Seokjin commented, raising his polaroid camera to take a photo.

He already thought of a funny caption he could write on the polariod for this sight. Dreams do come true.

“Well, maybe the magic is still here,” Jungkook added.

“How much magic can be in a construction site?” Taehyung piped up, slinging his arm over Jungkook’s shoulders.

“It’s the thought that counts. What if our dreams do come true?” Nari argued.

Jimin’s plump lips pouted in thought for a moment before nodding.

“It can’t hurt.”

“So, what we’re just going to yell out our dreams?” Yoongi scoffed out.

A loud drilling noise sounded momentarily from the site, making the group flinch a bit. Hoseok’s hands covered his ears while Jungkook shrunk into Taehyung’s form a bit. Those two hated loud noises.

“Why not?” Nari called out, her voice barely audible over the drilling noise.

Yoongi spared them a look but… he knew that she would do it regardless if he wanted them to.

“Ready?” Hoseok prompted.

She raised her hand and counted down with her fingers. On the last finger, the group called out their dreams. It was a cacophony of sound, but she didn’t hear any of their words clearly enough. She hoped though they actually said their dreams… rather than their discussion months ago where they went in circles.

“Let me live how I want!”

Her hands cupped her mouth as she shouted out towards the sea, hoping somewhere like the wish on a birthday candle, this would bring luck to her dreams. Her humble dream of wanting to write was something she clung to when thinking about the hardships of school. Her silly scribbles in her red notebook reminding her that there was adventure, love, and calmness in her imagination.

Suddenly, the drilling stopped and their words all cut off. Not one wanted their dream to be heard by the others.

At the suddenly silence and the aches in the throats, Jungkook was the first to let out a giggle at the stupidity of the scenario, followed by Seokjin.

In moments, they all – even Yoongi – were laughing over themselves.

“I hope we get our dreams,” Hoseok beamed, slinging his arm around Nari’s shoulder as they began to head away from the construction site.

The sun had begun to set. The group had begun to commune in the trunk of the truck. Nari’s head rested in Jimin’s lap – he had insisted, wanting to braid her hair. How this boy didn’t have a girlfriend she had no idea? He was a sweetheart.

Namjoon’s eyes were shut finally napping despite his neck bent at an odd angle. Like usual, the others were looking through the polaroids taken during the day and taking random ones while they waited for the sun to set.

“Hyung, can I keep this?”

It was Jungkook’s voice that piped up. Nari’s gaze flickered to him, her head turning a bit in Jimin’s hands.

Jungkook was holding a polaroid. The warm sunlight made her blink blearily, trying to spot what the photograph was. Seokjin leaned forward to peer at the photo.

“Sure,” he agreed with a shrug before going back through the others.

Before Nari could make it out, it was slid into his jacket. She pouted a bit out curiosity. Jungkook never kept polaroids. The only ones to ever pocket the photographs were Seokjin, Namjoon, and herself. Her notebook always had one or two pressed between the pages that she had forgotten about.

(She had found a photograph of Taehyung the other night when writing in her red notebook, and it had made her stomach whirl with butterflies. She remembered feeling startled because when did he look so cute? The photograph must’ve had just the right lighting. Just the right clothes. Something. That night she had forgotten about her journal entry, and thought of one of her friends in that leather jacket, sucking on a lollipop, kept repeating itself in her head. )

“Almost done, Nari,” Jimin’s soft voice took her out of her own thoughts.

She offered him a smile.

“Thank you,” she beamed, leaning up after she felt the hair tie wrap around the end of her hair. “Does it look nice?” she chuckled, showing off the braid.

“Very pretty,” it was Yoongi who spoke up politely.

Yoongi didn’t give compliments freely and it made her blush a bit, the color dusting her cheeks.

“Thanks, Yoongi,” she chuckled before pulling her legs closer to her chest.

The air was still muggy – especially with them so close to the shore. The water licked at the truck’s wheels. The boys with their legs over the trunk’s edge could dip their toes into the waves. However, despite the humidity, there was an odd chill in the air. She already had her hoodie on, alongside Yoongi’s much roomier one and Seokjin’s jean jacket draped over her knees. Still, Nari reached over Namjoon tugging the blanket beside him over her lap, she looked out at the group of boys. The comfortable air was nice.

Namjoon was snoozing beside Seokjin, his head beside the elder’s legs. Yoongi and Hoseok were side by side near the back of the truck bed; Hoseok was showing pictures of this and that from earlier to the blonde. Jimin shifted away from her to stick his legs off the edge of the trunk swinging them carefreely. Jungkook was leaning against the side of the car, not able to sit still currently. His feet and edges of his jeans were wet with water, his shoes sitting in a pile in the trunk. Meanwhile, Taehyung had his back against the back of the car trunk behind her. The sunlight streamed over them, making some of them glow ethereally. A few of them – like Yoongi – squinted at the light.

“I love you guys, you know that,” she told them. Her smile was genuine and as warm as the sunset.

Nari’s gaze turned to look at the seven boys she had quickly grown to see as her best friends. She wished she could take a mental snapshot. She never wanted to forget it. Today felt just right. Perfect in the way, artworks are all perfect. It was their own. It wasn’t even the most exciting. There were fun silly moments – races, talking while resting against the sand, driving the car through the shallows, and taking too many pictures. Nothing was especially… amazing? But it felt right. It felt safe and warm and happy.

Reaching over, she snatched Seokjin’s camera. He didn’t even protest – though the look he sent her was one of warning. She leaned back, trying to get everyone in the candid shot as she snapped a polaroid. The sun’s glare took up most of the photo, and it was horribly framed. But it was there. She grinned, flopping back holding the still developing polaroid close. Her back hit the metal truck bed with a thud.

She felt like she was home.

She hadn’t felt this way with any of her previous friends.

“Thanks for graffitiing my car that night,” she teased, reaching out to squeeze Taehyung’s hand before curling towards the napping Namjoon, the smell of cigarettes, ocean spray, and convenience store men’s cologne filling her senses. The rumble of their laughter was as calming as the waves licking at the sand below their feet.

Nari hoped things wouldn’t change.

#taehyung x oc #seokjin x oc #taehyung x reader #seokjin x reader #bts hyyh fanfic #bts fanfic #bts hurt/comfort #bts hyyh

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btschooseafic · 3 years

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Hey you, what’s your dream?

Pairing: platonic!oc x ot7

Details: manager!oc, predebut/idolverse, partial BTS World!verse

Summary: Debut day!

Warnings: This is a fictional story based on real events. The characters presented here are not the same as their real life counterparts. (TW: panic attack, dieting mentions) [Masterlist]

Track 22: Debut!

Started From the Bottom- Drake

“Started from the bottom now we’re here

Started from the bottom now my whole team fuckin’ here.”

Debut Showcase, Gangnam Ilchi Hall-June 12, 2013

“Aviva-yah,” Yoongi called. Aviva looked up with her camera, only to be faced with Yoongi snapping a picture of her with his. He looked down at his camera and grinned. “Looks good.”

Aviva looked him over. “So do you. I really like the skirt.”

Yoongi did a little twirl. “Hip hop!”

“Ah… I’m so nervous, I’m stiff as a board,” Jin muttered.

“Want a massage, hyung?” Jungkook offered. Jin blinked at him.

“Seriously? Yeah, that would be great.” Jin sighed happily as Jungkook massaged his shoulders. Aviva walked over, getting a shot of them. “You’re good at this. How come you don’t do it more often?”

“Cause this is a special occasion,” Jungkook told him. “Don’t get used to it, hyung.”

“…I’ll pay you in food,” Jin offered.

“…I’ll consider it,” Jungkook said. Aviva laughed. They glanced at her.

“Yah, go away, camera-ninja,” Jin said.

The boys preformed Bulletproof Pt. 2, No More Dream, and Like to round it out. In-between changing their outfits, Aviva got a quick word with Yoongi and Hoseok.

“How’s it going out there?” She asked them. Yoongi and Hoseok looked at each other.

“Good~?” Hoseok said.

“Good~” Yoongi agreed. Namjoon stepped up behind them, putting his hands on their shoulders. Hoseok clutched his chest as Yoongi plastered on an overly surprised face.

“What’re you guys doing?” Namjoon asked.

“Talking about how great you guys are,” Aviva told him.

“Yah!” Namjoon flushed. “It’s time to get back on stage!” He pointed his finger in the air. “Let’s go!”

Afterwards, Aviva stood off to the side, watching the boys get interviewed about their first performances.

Yoongi spoke about how they were more authentic than other idol groups doing hip hop. Namjoon spoke about wanting to reach out to teenagers and get them to think about what their dreams were, and wanting to win a Best New Artist Award.

At the end of the night Aviva presented them with a custom-made cake. “Sorry I didn’t bake this one,” she said. “But I saw an ad for this bakery, and I thought it could be cool.”

“It is!” Jimin assured her. “Your cakes are probably the tastiest, but this one is very pretty.” Aviva clenched her fist.

“I’m going to improve my cake decorating skills.”

“Ah, that’s not what I…” Jimin smiled at her determined expression. “Okay, I can’t wait to see what you come up with—shall we eat?”

M!Countdown Debut! June 13th 2013

At their debut M!Countdown stage, Aviva was carrying around her camera again, to get behind the scenes footage.

Joonho and his assistants were working hard to mark sure every item of clothing was perfectly place. Jihye and Eunjung were chatting as they waited for their turn. However, Aviva could see that Eunjung had already gotten to Namjoon earlier this morning with an important addition to his hairstyle.

Aviva laughed, stretching her arm up and tracing the letters RM that had been shaved into the side of his head. “I haven’t seen this yet…”

“What? You don’t like it?” Namjoon said nervously.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “It’s just… I wonder what you’ll think about this style when you look back at it. Fashion is so changeable…”

“All the more reason to enjoy it now!” Hoseok said, popping up behind them, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and the other around Namjoon’s back.

“You would say that,” Aviva said, flicking the spiky mask.

He laughed. “You really like this thing, huh?” He struck a dramatic pose. “What I do for the sake of art!” She and Namjoon both laughed along with him.

Jungkook and Jimin walked over. Jimin spotted the camera and swerved slightly to sit on a nearby bench.

“I’m going to practice,” Namjoon said, turning towards the wall and taking a few deep breathes before launching into one of his verses. It was the quick one.

Hoseok mimicked him jokingly. Jungkook watched and then did the same. Hoseok laughed.

Namjoon frowned, pointing at Jungkook. “I hate this kid.”

“No, you don’t, Namjoon-ah,” Aviva said easily.

“If you’re gonna copy me, try and do it properly, at least,” he challenged. Hoseok shrugged. Jungkook tried. “Not similar!”

“He can’t do it so well when he’s under the spotlight like that,” Hoseok told Aviva.

“Well, Namjoon-ah does have his own style of rap,” Aviva thought. “You should rap like yourselves, not like him. That’s what makes you all special.”

“Aw.” Hoseok poked her on the cheek. “Cutie, manager-nim.”

“…Can we move on?” Aviva said. “Your audience doesn’t want to hear about me, they want to hear about you.”

Jimin quickly rapped the verse, blushing when they turned to him.

“Ah, sorry,” Jimin said in English for some reason.

“No, it was cool,” Namjoon told him, patting him on the shoulder. “You’re the coolest.”

Readier, the boys loosened up by seeing who could rap the fastest in English. Then Namjoon moved on to walking through their performance. Aviva could see the maknae line’s eyes glazing over as he spoke. Taehyung spotted her and blew her a kiss. Jimin noticed and laughed quietly. He moved over to her.

“Shouldn’t you be listening to your leader?” Aviva teased.

Jimin grinned sheepishly. “Ah, well… I thought maybe our fans could use an update on what we’re doing? That’s who you’re recording this for, right? Our fans?” He thought. Aviva nodded. “Right now we’re in the waiting room.” Jimin pulled at Jungkook’s arm. “Jungkook-ah.” Jungkook turned around and stepped closer to them. “The camera’s on, see?” Jungkook bent down slightly.

“Yah, you don’t have to bend down,” Aviva said. “I’m not that short…” Jungkook laughed. “What will you do next, Jiminie?”

“Next we will…”

“Lose weight!” Jungkook said. Aviva frowned.

“Eh? Why~”

Jungkook laughed. “Stop with the aegyo, noona, you’re too old for that!” He turned back to Namjoon, walking closer over to him to listen.

“…Jungkookie’s a little grumpy today, isn’t he?” Jimin thought.

“Nervous?” Aviva wondered.

“I am,” Jimin admitted.

“I meant Kook... but, yeah, probably everyone is. I mean, I’m nervous and I’m not even performing!”

Jimin grimaced.

“Namjoon-ah, Jungook-ah, have you changed your socks?” One of the assistants asked. The boys broke up to continue getting ready.

“Well… we’re going to lose weight now, I guess,” Jimin said. “Yes, going to lose weight diligently. So I can show you great abs.” He looked down at himself.

“Your abs are already great,” Aviva told him honestly. Hoseok popped up behind Jimin, his plainer mask hanging over his chin.

“What are you doing?” He wondered.

Jimin blinked at him. “What?”

“Jiminie’s giving the fans an update!” Aviva told Hoseok.

“Right now we’re changing into our cool outfits before rehearsal,” Jimin told her and the camera. He wiggled his many ringed fingers at her.

“Bling~Bling~” Hoseok said. He held up his own gloved hand. “It says Bangtan Sonyeondan on it!”

“They are cool gloves,” Aviva agreed. “But you’re interrupting Jiminie.”

“Yeah, don’t interrupt me while I’m speaking to the camera, hyung!” Jimin said. “I get…” He glanced at Aviva and then looked away from her, staring at his feet. “…Shy.” He laughed nervously.

“Why?” Hoseok wondered. “It’s just Avi-yah.”

“It’s fine.” Aviva switched off her camera. “We can take a break.”

“Thanks, noona.” Jimin smiled at her.

“Cookie?” Yoongi offered, holding a small snack bag out to them.

“Ah, no thanks, hyung,” Jimin said. “I’m still dieting, so…”

Yoongi shrugged, holding it out to Aviva.

She took one. “Thanks.”

“You know, your shyness is cute, but you have to get used to the cameras if we’re going to debut now,” Hoseok said to Jimin.

Jimin frowned. “Yeah, well, how do you suggest I do that, Hobi-hyung?”

“Hmm…” Hoseok grinned. “I dare you to flash your abs to the camera.”

“Eh?” Jimin said. “Why?”

“Why?” Aviva agreed.

“Well, he’s going to be doing it on stage all the time now, so it’d be good practice, right?” He figured.

Jimin’s brow furrowed. “He’s got a point.”

“Yes, but the internet is forever,” Aviva reminded him. “If I post this…”

Jimin let out a breath. “Let’s do it.” He gripped the edge of his shirt. “Film me, noona.”

Soon they moved upstairs to the stage for the rehearsal. She got a shot of them moving up the stairs. Jungkook spotted her and waved.

“Ah, manager-noona, when did you get here?”

The other members shot her peace signs as they passed.

They moved straight from the rehearsal into the pre-recording for No More Dream. Aviva watched from the side and then ran around the corner to meet them as they exited the stage.

Aviva filmed them walking off stage, down the hall. The assistants were waiting with tissues to blot at their sweaty faces.

“This leather…” Namjoon muttered, pulling at his shirt, which was sticking to him with sweat. She switched her camera off, letting it hang off her neck. “Honestly.”

“Bend down.” She motioned at him. He did and she carefully dabbed at his face with a tissue, not wanting to ruin the makeup artist’s hard work. “There’s water and towels in the dressing room.”

“Good,” Yoongi said as he passed her. “It’s hot.”

Aviva froze, spotting Jin crying as he stepped off the stage.

“Oppa…” She frowned, noting one of the other cameramen was following him closer to get a shot. She followed them too. “Yah, give him some space.” The camera man hesitated. Aviva flashed her employee ID, and a glare at him. The camera man waved his hand and retreated out of the room. Jin was surrounded by assistants who were wiping his face and fanning him. Jimin and Namjoon were hovering, watching him concernedly. “Hi, Jinie-oppa. It’s okay to cry, you know.”

“But, I’m the oldest," he choked out. "I'm not supposed to..."

“You may be the oldest, but you also have the most sensitive heart,” she thought. “It’s a curse and a blessing.”

“I need to… get ready… for the… performance.”

She frowned at his ragged breathing.

“Seokjin-oppa.” She leaned up, brushing his hair away from his face. “Can you breath with me? Copy my breathing. Come on, slowly in… and out… good job.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, as his breathing settled.

“Hey, it’s a big moment, it makes sense to have big feelings, you don’t need to apologize, okay?”

“Okay.” He smiled slightly. “Guess I’ll say thank you, then.” He bent and kissed her forehead. “Thank you, manager-nim.”

“You two are being very sweet, but you should know, Avi, that he’s crying because his pants kept falling down,” Namjoon teased.

“Yah!” Jin protested, his face turning pink. Namjoon laughed as Jin got him into a headlock and rubbed roughly at his head.

“Ah, watch it—Eunjung-ssi is going to yell at you!”

“Eh? I thought it was because he made a mistake?” Jimin said to Aviva. Jin glared at him. Jimin patted him on the arm. “Don’t cry, hyung, it makes me want to cry too.”

Jin rejoined the others to do their huddle and cheer before they stepped back out onto stage to preform Bulletproof Pt. 2.

Jin waved at her as he passed. Yoongi gave her two thumbs up. Namjoon flashed her a peace sign.

After the performance, Aviva was waiting for them again near the door.

“We did well!” Jin said, hugging her. She laughed.

“Ah, oppa, I’m filming!”

“Our first broadcast recording!” Jin hugged Hoseok.

“First success!” Hoseok did a double fist pump.

“Oh yeah!” Namjoon echoed him as Jin moved on to hug Yoongi. “We’ll do even better on tomorrow’s stage.”

“We will do better tomorrow,” Jin agreed, though he was more subdued than the other two. He smiled weakly. “I have confidence for tomorrow.” Aviva couldn’t find the words. Instead she reached up and brushed his hair out of his face again.

Music Bank, No More Dream Debut!- June 14th 2013

The next day during rehearsal, Yoongi showed off his shirt with his stage name on it to the camera.

“I’m Suga, you see that?”

Aviva nodded. “Otherwise I wouldn’t know who you are.”

“Yah, you brat, it’s for the dry rehearsal,” he said. “You know that.”

Taehyung laughed behind them. Yoongi made a silly face at him. He laughed harder.

Aviva went out into the seats out a couple rows away from the stage to film their rehearsal.

“Yah, noona, don’t you have confidence in me?” Jimin whined after they finished the rehearsal and gathered back in the dressing room. “I know I made a small mistake with the kick, but I promise I’ll practice—and I always get the jump right every time. Every time!”

Aviva was taking a break from filming to charge her camera.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“The part when I jump over Hobi, I saw how nervous you got!”

Aviva blushed slightly. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Jiminie, I just… you know I worry.”

“Then don’t watch that part, close your eyes,” Yoongi suggested.

She frowned.

“I can’t do that. I have to support you guys, and get behind the scenes footage, and—“

“Okay, okay.” He waved his hand. “It was just a suggestion.”

She chewed at her lip. “I like the thing with the hat though. It’s cute.”

“I’m not sure cute was what Hobi was aiming for, but I’ll take it!” Jimin said.

Aviva got her camera back in time to film Jimin and Yoongi practicing their dance moves. Taehyung joined them.

“We have to do well,” he told Aviva seriously. “There’s only one chance.” She tilted her head.

“One chance for…?”

He blinked at her. “There’s only, one chance~” He started to sing.

She nodded. “One Shot, B.A.P.”

“Ding, ding, ding—correct!”

Meanwhile, Jungkook trying some of Namjoon’s throat spray.

He coughed. “Are you supposed to drink water with this?”

“Hmmm?” Namjoon looked at him sleepily.

Aviva turned to get shots of the other members. Jin spotted her and waved with the sleeves of his leather jacket, which he was wearing backwards. She laughed.

“Why are you being so cute?”

He pouted at her. “Are you suggesting I’m not usually cute?”

“You’re not usually this shy,” she thought.

“Ah, I did a shy introduction, so I’m still shy now,” he explained.

She nodded. “Well, that’s okay, oppa, I like both the shy and confident versions of you,” she said honestly. He blushed. “Where did Kook go? He was just here...” He laughed.

“Ah, yeah, he’s fallen asleep again.”

Jungkook had almost passed out in his chair.

“Drink,” she ordered him, handing him a water bottle as one of the stagehands fanned him.

“What?” He smiled at her, dazed. “Oh, manager-noona, hi.”

She frowned. “You need to eat something, get your blood sugar up.”

“But I’m on a diet~” Jungkook said. “You can’t make me~”

Aviva sighed. “What about some juice?”

He blinked and nodded. “Yes please.”

“I’ll get it for him,” Jin offered, pulling his jacket on the right way around now. Aviva glanced over at Jimin, who was still practicing.

“Get one for Jiminie too, please.”

Jin nodded.

“One juice for the maknae and one for the Bagel Man, got it.”

Aviva squinted after him.

“Why is Jiminie a bagel?”

“It’s a combo between baby face and glamorous body,” Jungkook explained. He smiled. “Namjoon-hyung told me I’ll probably be like that someday.” His brow furrowed. “Hmm, where did Namjoon-hyung go?”

“I’ll look for him.”

She found him sitting on a chair in the hallway, his head in his hands. He looked like The Thinker, except even stiffer than stone. She switched off her camera, having a feeling he wouldn’t want the fans seeing him like this.

“Namjoon-ah…” Aviva punched lightly at his back. “You’re so tense. Come on, man.”

He squinted at her.

“If that’s an attempt at a massage, you’re failing.”

“No, I’m just hitting you.”

“Oh. You’re doing great then.”

She sighed, laying her hands flat and smoothing them over his shoulders, kneading at the tense muscles.

He made a bit of a happy noise.

“Better?” She asked in his ear. He jolted and then stiffened again. “Sorry.” She withdrew from him.

“No! I…” He turned, his face red. “It’s fine. That was… nice. Thanks. You, ah, weren’t filming that, were you?”

She shook her head. “I do still need some more footage though.”

“You’ll find it,” Namjoon said confidently. “You’re good at this.”

“You’re so amazing, Syub Syub,” Hoseok was saying to Yoongi back inside the room. “You actually danced.” Yoongi turned, spotting Aviva with the camera.

“I usually don’t show off my dancing,” he explained to any future viewers.

“You’re so cool,” Hobi praised. Yoongi smiled awkwardly. Hoseok turned to Tae. “V-ssi, you should show us too.”

Taehyung blinked. “Show what?”

Hoseok hummed one line of the song. “That part.”

Tae did a confused little head wiggle for the camera.

It was cute, but awkward.

“The truth is, V-ah doesn’t do that part,” Yoongi told the camera.

“Oh?” Hoseok smirked.

Yoongi squeezed Taehyung’s shoulder.

“You don’t need to know that part. It’s not yours.”

Hoseok shot an apologetic look at Tae, who was frowning, and then attacked him with a hug, biting his shoulder for some reason.

“Ah, hyung, you’re not a vampire!” Tae said, laughing.

“You’re so cute I just wanna eat you up!” Hoseok told him. Taehyung ran away from him, hiding behind Aviva.

“Yah, leave Taehyung-ah alone,” Jin said, stopping his neck stretches to glare at Hoseok.

“Are you okay?” Aviva asked Yoongi as Tae leaned on her. “How’s your shoulder?” He frowned at the camera. “Ah, sorry, I can edit that out.”

“Please do. The shoulder’s fine,” he told her. “Right now, I’m a little nervous for the pre-recording. I feel dazed, but I’m keeping myself on my toes.” Hoseok and Jin popped in and out from behind him making faces. Tae flashed a peace sign in front of the camera. Yoongi completely ignored them. “We’ll work hard. Please watch over us.” He smiled, just a tinge of annoyance on his face.

“But you’ve been great in front of the camera,” she told him. “I really appreciate it, since it gives me more material to pick from… but don’t force yourself, okay?”

“I’m not,” he told her.

“Swag!” Namjoon called out as he passed the camera, ready to preform. Aviva tried not to laugh. Yoongi bowed slightly. Hoseok and Jimin flashed peace signs.

Aviva watched from the side, grinning as girls shrieked at Jimin’s abs reveal, and cheered at Jimin’s leap.

“We finished it!” Namjoon said as he came off stage, smiling in relief.

“Ah, that was scary!” Yoongi said, rubbing his chest.

Jungkook pronounced it, “So-so.”

“The end!” Hoseok said, flashing a peace sign at the camera.

“Hi.” Jin waved shyly. “We did well, I think.”

“The end!” Tae said, flashing a peace sign. Aviva laughed.

“Hobi just did that!”

Tae pouted.

In the dressing room, Aviva looked at Jimin.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

“Not you, necessarily…” He eyed the camera and stepped closer, pointing. “That red light scares me the most. It makes me wonder what I should say.”

“Just be yourself,” Aviva told him. “If I record anything you’re uncomfortable with sharing, I can always edit it out. I promise not to post anything you don’t want me to.”

Jimin smiled, stroking the lens like it was the face of his lover.

“You’re a good girl, huh?”

“I won’t be if you keep touching the lens!”

He laughed.

Across the room, Jin was making faces at Aviva, passing his hand over his face, and changing his expression dramatically. A sleepy Taehyung was sitting next to him as he got his makeup fixed, clearly not amused.

“Wow, I’m so nervous,” Jungkook said as they headed back towards the stage for the live broadcast.

“You got this!” Aviva told him.

During the performance, Aviva was out in the audience again, catching shots of the fans cheering, especially when the boys flashed their abs, and got into their dance solos.

Afterwards, the boys made more faces at her as they came off stage. The photographer had disappeared somewhere, so Aviva was put in charge of taking the after-performance group photos for the fans. Tae and Jimin were reaching across the group to hold hands, as Hoseok bit down on Jimin’s head for some reason.

“Hobi!” Aviva called out to him. “Do I need to get you a teething toy?” The boys laughed, including Hoseok.

“Ah, we are born in the year of the dog, after all! Come play with us!” He walked over and grabbed her hand, waving at one of the assistants. “Hi, hi, noona, can you get a picture of us with our manager too?” He patted Aviva on her head, ignoring her protests. “We won’t post it anywhere, so just stay still and let us commemorate this moment. You’re part of it too, you know.”

#bts #fanfiction #idolverse #ot7 #manager!oc #bts x oc #ot7 x oc #bts predebut #bts fanfiction

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bangtann-bangdamn · 4 years

Text

<OT7>

After reading Taehyung’s new book from his beloved antique store, Jin and Yoongi find themselves transformed into parakeets.

Warnings: None. This is an absolute crack piece

Word Count: 6957

Master List

AN: This entire fic was a result of seeing this post in June 2019 and I have been working on it ever since. I love this story so much that I’m low key thinking about making this into a series. So if you love it, let me know!

Taehyung missed his grandmother. It wasn’t something he spoke about very often, but he did. He didn’t feel like he could voice this to his parents either, because, despite entrusting his care into her hands for most of his childhood, his grandmother was quite eccentric. But his parents had very little options in terms of child-care for Taehyung as they were often away on business.

Most of his peers felt bad for Taehyung when he mentioned this, but he had felt lucky for it meant that he got to spend his childhood trailing after his grandmother as she travelled to different parts of the town that he knew his mother would hate. His grandmother was a very popular woman, and so she spent her days visiting strange stores filled with smells that were both alarming and comforting and never quite distinguishable for Taehyung to find out what it was, and restaurants that always seemed to be full of noise but lacking in customers.

He always felt like they were on their own private adventure when he accompanied his grandmother on her trips, but there was one place in particular that he was always excited to go to. On the outside, the store was nothing special. A simple concrete building with a discrete sign hanging over its white door. Nothing on the outside to give away the treasure that hid inside.

His grandmother always called it the ‘antique’ store, but Taehyung knew it was more than that. It was a magical wonderland of hidden treasures. He would rush in front of his grandmother so he could take his time walking down each section, touching all the different treasures that decorated the shelves. He would always imagine the people they might have belonged to, the journeys they had been on to end up in some antique shop in Seoul. He liked to think that even the most mundane of objects had been on fabulous adventures.

Like the table lamp his grandmother had once bought. With its intricate embellishments on its legs, to the thin lace lamp shade that cast patterns all across the walls. He would think to himself that it had belonged to a young sorceress once upon a time who bespelled the lamp to never break, despite looking like one wrong knock could shatter it. It brought him a sense of calm walking through the shop whilst his grandmother spoke in low whispers to the owner about the small collection of books that were stored behind a locked cabinet at the back of the room.

When his grandmother had passed when he was eighteen, he had found solace in the antique store. Everything in his life was changing, but the antique store was always there to support him. Even as he moved to a different part of Seoul to attend university, he always made time to visit.

He was always coming home with some new intricate object to decorate his apartment, which would have been fine if he had lived alone. But, as it was, he shared his apartment with two other men who had very strong opinions about the antique shop.

Mostly, Jin and Yoongi thought Taehyung’s great purchases were a little weird.

Even Taehyung had to admit that his purchasing had gotten a little out of control when he brought home a real skull that one time. After that, Jin and Yoongi had made Taehyung promise to get one of their approval before bringing anything home.

Which is how Taehyung found himself on his knees in front of his eldest roommate.

"Please!" Taehyung begged, clutching his hands together and screwing up his face into the biggest pout he could physically manifest in the hopes that Jin could not refuse.

Jin continued to play on his Switch, frowning as he tried to keep his gaze focused on his Animal Crossing character and not Taehyung’s pout. After all, he needed all his concentration to catch those pesky butterflies. "Ah, Taehyung, can't you see I'm busy?"

"But you're the only one around! Yoongi's gone to work." Taehyung unclutched his hands as he stood back up and took a seat on the sofa beside Jin.

Jin groaned. "What about Jungkook?” he offered reluctantly. Whilst Jungkook wasn’t known for his sensible purchases (no seriously, the kid once bought speakers the size of his body that he couldn’t use due to the sheer volume they produced, but refused to buy himself a real pillow for his bed), but at least he was reliable. “Doesn't he have free time today? He can have my vote."

Taehung folded his arms across his chest. "He has university." He pouted.

"Jimin?" Jin looked up from his game as he thought. Jimin could be trusted. He wasn’t really known for buying random junk to clog up his apartment. Although, he was known to encourage Taehyung’s somewhat questionable fashion choices.

"Visiting his mum and won't be back until this evening." Taehyung smiled, already knowing that he had won this argument.

"Doesn't Namjoon like all that old crap?" Jin spat humorlessly as he returned to his game. He couldn’t trust Namjoon with Taehyung, which was a surprise to him as well. The usually level-headed one in their group had been easily swayed by a plant. Yes, you read that correctly. A plant. Which meant he was compromised, but Jin was willing to let it go this time if he meant he didn’t have to go himself.

Jin and Yoongi had grown to love the hideous clock Namjoon had encouraged Taehyung to buy, which was why he would prefer Namjoon to go than to suffer another trip to the antique shop.

"Yeah, but he's working too."

"Damn." Jin paused his game as he thought. He knew he was running out of options here and if he couldn’t trump Taehyung soon, then he was really going to have to bite the bullet and go with him. The alternative was to allow Taehyung go alone and risk him returning with some other obnoxiously loud object.

"Ah-ha!" Jin clicked his fingers in triumph. "Hoseok said he had the day off today."

"That's true, he did." Taehyung slowly nodded his head as he thought about his friend.

Jin grinned as he resumed his game. He was going to treat himself by buying something pretty from Tom Nook.

"Shame he decided to do some overtime."

Jin groaned as he saved his game. Of course he did. Hoseok loved his job. He had never met a man who was more excited at the prospect of going to work than Jung Hoseok. Seriously, it wasn’t natural. "Fine. But you owe me one!"

Taehyung jumped to his feet, fist-bumping the air as he yelled, "Yes!"

“Ah, Taehyung, why do you need to go to the store today?” Jin moaned, not for the first time since they left the apartment. Why did it have to be so far from their home?

“Hyung, I thought you said you liked the antique shop!” Taehyung tried to pout, but he couldn’t quite hide the smile from his face. He had been trying to squash his excitement ever since they left for fear that Jin would catch on to his plan.

“No, I said I like leaving the antique shop.” Jin rolled his eyes as they crossed the street to the antique store. “The Korean BBQ place next door is the best in the country."

"I already said I would buy you lunch, hyung." Taehyung laughed as he opened the door to the store. He held it open for Jin.

"Good, as long as we’re clear that I’m here for the food and not the antique shop.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Noted.” He let the door go as he turned to face the owner, an elderly man who sat behind the counter. His glasses were the thickest Taehyung had ever seen, and yet the man still seemed to narrow his eyes as he looked over to Jin and Taehyung.

“Afternoon, Mr Choi!” Taehyung waved as he walked over to the counter with a smile.

“Ah, there’s my favourite customer!” Mr Choi stood, returning Taehyung’s smile as he walked around the counter to shake Taehyung’s hand. He leaned heavily against the counter, but that didn’t seem to deter him from looking up at Taehyung.

“Anything new to see?” Taehyung could barely conceal his excitement.

“Of course, of course. Come with me.” Mr Choi waved for Taehyung to follow him to the back of the shop.

Taehyung turned back to face Jin. “Are you going to be okay for a moment?”

Jin shrugged, taking a seat on one of the red velvet chairs that was packed in between a large grandfather clock, and an equally large and clearly phallic looking wooden statue. “Just don’t buy anything too obtrusive,” Jin called after Taehyung, who had not waited for Jin’s response.

Jin sighed. That was the real reason why Jin didn’t like coming to the antique shop. Whilst Taehyung went off to explore the shop, Jin was usually left to sit alone. Of course, he could go with Taehyung but after the last time they had both agreed it was probably for the best if Jin remained seated. The shop was kind of crowded and his broad shoulders tended to… disagree with the shop. And after he had almost broken a statue that was not only ten times his age, but cost more than his parent net worth, he didn’t want to risk it. But it wasn’t the worst place to spend an afternoon. He had to admit (under the heavy influence of alcohol, mind) that he actually did enjoy going to the antique shop. It was like stepping into another world. A world where anything was possible.

Even so, Jin couldn’t bring himself to relax whenever he stepped foot in the store. Whilst they were a similar height, Taehyung seemed to navigate the store with ease. Jin always found himself uncomfortably close to disaster with every breath. Even seated, Jin found that it would be far too easy to knock over some ridiculously expensive lamp. So he sat rigid, focusing on not moving at all. He definitely didn’t want to be forced into spending a couple hundred on some ugly ornament that Taehyung would force him to keep because he broke it.

So that meant Jin was left alone to stare around the shop.

Seriously, who would buy a ginormous wooden statue that looked like a penis?

Jin closed his eyes as he tried to expel the image from his mind.

“Thank you, Mr Choi. This is perfect!”

Jin jumped slightly in his chair as Taehyung’s voice rang through the shop. He hadn’t been sleeping. He was just resting his eyes.

How long had Taehyung been this time? He could never tell when he was in this store. Time seemed to stop and it wasn’t like Taehyung was a fast shopper in the first place. Jin had lost count of the time where Taehyung had meandered around the store whilst Jin tried not to fall asleep. Those trips were the worst because they were always the ones where Jin...

Taehyung rounded the corner with Mr Choi on his heel.

Jin stood quickly, trying to look inconspicuous as he stretched out his limbs. But in his haste to stand, Jin threw out his elbow just a little too roughly and accidently knocked the lamp. He quickly reached over to stop it from tumbling to the floor, glancing to make sure Taehyung and Mr Choi hadn’t noticed the near disaster.

Luckily, neither of them were playing Jin any attention. Jin sighed as he returned the lamp to its position before carefully making his way over to where Taehyung stood by the counter.

“- the moment I saw it, I knew there was only one customer who should have it. It was one of your grandmother’s favourite’s.”

“I know,” Taehyung agreed, staring down at the book in his hand with a sad smile. “I’ve been looking for it everywhere.”

Jin peered at the book in Mr Choi’s hand with disinterest. From his glance, it looked like an ordinary hard back. The brown, worn down cover was plain, the spine written in a faded gold font in a language Jin didn’t recognise.

“-but I should pay something towards it,” Taehying continued as he reached for his wallet.

Mr Choi shook his head, holding out his hand to stop Taehyung from pulling out any money. “Don’t be ridiculous. Consider this a gift for my favourite customer.”

“Mr Choi…”

“No buts. It’s yours.” Mr Choi wrapped the book in tissue paper before placing it in a paper bag, which Jin thought was incredibly unnecessary. The book was old and clearly worn out. It definitely didn’t need to be handled with care. But he kept the comment to himself. He didn’t want to jeopardize a free lunch from Taehyung.

“Thank you, Mr Choi.” Taehyung bowed low, unable to keep the tears from his eyes as he smiled at the olerman.

“Ah, enough with the formalities. You go and enjoy the rest of your day with your friend. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see the back of this place.” Mr Choi nodded his head towards Jin and, whilst he did so with a smile, Jin could help but feel a little chastised.

“So what exactly is the book about?” Jin asked through a mouthful of meat. He couldn’t believe that the simple book was all that Taehyung had been after in the end.

Taehyung glanced at the bag on the seat beside him, chopsticks playing with the food in his bowl. “I think this is the book my grandmother used to have a copy of, but it got lost when she passed away.”

“But it’s written in gibberish!” Jin tried to remember the title of the book, but the characters flew across his mind and made as much sense as they did when he first read them. He shook his head.

“It’s latin, not gibberish.” He peered into the bag once more. “At least, I hope it’s Latin.”. He shrugged. “She liked a mystery. She used to spend her time translating books like this for fun.”

Jin stopped shoveling food into his mouth as he gaped at Taehung. “You know what, it makes sense now. I get why you’re so weird.” Jin nodded sagely, smile tugging at his lips. He was only teasing his younger friend, but it did at least provide a little context for Taehyung’s love for some random antique shop.

“Gah, I’m not weird, hyung,” Taehyung laughed.

“You spend all your free time in an antique shop.” Jin deadpanned, tapping his chopsticks on the side of the bowl.

Taehyung glared at Jin. “I’m not weird,” He muttered as he shoveled some more meat into his mouth.

Jin shrugged. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

"Yoongi, guess what the weirdo brought home this time!" Jin called out the moment they returned to the apartment. He let their front door swing wide open and bang into the wall.

Taehyung rolled his eyes but decided not to comment as he followed the positively excited Jin into their home and closed the door behind them. He was used to this. To be deemed the weird one. So what if he was passionate about an antique shop? At least he didn’t collect anime figurines like their other friend.

Yoongi sat up on the sofa, blinking blearily at the pair. "Do you have to be so loud? I was sleeping." He rubbed his eyes as he let out a long yawn.

Taehyung giggled as he walked towards the kitchen and placed his bag down on the counter. "Yeah, Jin. You woke Yoongi up."

“Trust me, you’ll want to be awake for this,” Jin said to Yoongi with a smirk. He turned to Taehyung. “Now show him, brat.”

Taehyung thought about it for a moment. “Nah.” He shook his head, trying his best not to look amused but knowing that he was failing miserably. His cheeks were hurting from trying to suppress his smile. This, too, was to be expected. Jin and Yoongi liked to guess what Taehyung purchased every time they came back. Taehyung didn’t mind. If it made them complain less about what he was buying, then he was all for it.

He turned away from his hyungs, deciding to get himself a drink of water when his phone chimed. Absentmindedly he pulled his phone from his pocket as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard.

Jimin: You free tonight?

Taehyung: Depends… What are you proposing?

Jimin: Namjoon’s finally agreed to a night out 😈

Taehyung: Namjoon? Kim Namjoon?

Jimin: The one and only

Taehyung: Damn, I can be free for that. Let me get changed and I’ll come round for pre-drinks.

Jimin: Sweet. See you soon

Taehyung put his phone back into his pocket before filling his glass with a smile. He could do with a night out. He turned to face Jin and Yoongi once more, finally noting that Jin had been, in fact, talking the entire time Taehyung had been distracted.

“-and that is the last time I ever do something nice for you.” He folded his arms across his chest dramatically, turning away from Yoongi and glaring directly at Taehyung.

Yoongi looked up at the broad-shouldered man with a look that Taehyung could only describe as one that said ‘Who shat in your coco puffs this morning?’

“What?” Taehyung asked, wide-eyed. He had a feeling Jin had just spent the last couple of minutes complaining about their day out and he had completely ignored him.

Yoongi laughing at Jin’s exasperated sigh.

“Gah, why do I even bother?” Jin sank down further in the seat beside Yoongi, dramatically flailing his limbs in the process.

Taehyung giggled before announcing, “I’m just going to get changed and then I’m off out.”

Yoongi nodded silently whilst Jin continued to pout. But the moment they heard Taehyung’s door close, Jin was on his feet and pouncing towards the bag Taehyung had left on the counter. He picked up the book carelessly before bringing it over to Yoongi.

“See, what did I say? Another useless piece of junk to lay around the apartment. I mean, he could have picked something useful, like the chair I was sitting on or something but oh no.” Jin flicked through the pages, disgust colouring his features. “He had to pick up this book of gibberish.” He dropped the book onto the coffee table.

“It looks like Latin to me,” Yoongi contemplated as he picked up the book and opened it to a random page. He marvelled at the intricate drawing of parakeets adorned on the left side of the page. “Must be a book about animals. Look it even says convertens est animalis. It practically has ‘animal’ in the title.” Yoongi pointed to the top of the book, raising his brow as if he had solved the biggest mystery in the universe; how Jeon Jungkook managed to sleep in a bed with no bedding.

Jin scoffed. “Alright, Min genius. What does the rest of it say, if you’re so smart.” Jin rolled his eyes. He had low expectations of Yoongi actually being able to read the dead language, but he couldn’t see the harm in letting him try.

Yoongi inspected the book closely. “Volatilia ad sibi similia,” Yoongi mused. “That sounds kind of familiar.” He leant back in the chair once more, lifting the book to his face.

As Yoongi silently read, Jin decided that he was going to see if he could find more information on the book online. He pulled out his phone, determined to search for the title of the book.

Mutantur et nos.

Huh. Well that didn’t sound good, Jin thought as he typed it into his phone. Surely a book that had ‘mutant’ on the cover was going to lead to no good?

The first result led to a wikipedia page for Tempora Mutantur. It explained the term as the ‘changes that passages of time brings’, but was more commonly known as Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis - ‘Times are changed, we also are changed with them.’

Jin narrowed his eyes. Well, that wasn’t helpful in the slightest. Jin continued to scroll through the results, but not one linked to the book in Yoongi’s hand.

“Huh,” Yoongi expelled. He glanced at the front cover.

“What?” Jin lowered his phone to glance at the man beside him.

“I think this is a magic book.” Yoongi met Jin’s gaze with wide eyes.

“Pft, I doubt that.” Jin laughed. “It’s some stupid book that was probably written in the last half of the century that Taehyung was conned into taking home. You know, like half the junk he brings home from that place.”

“Hm. Guess it won’t hurt to try it then,” Yoongi countered, sitting up straight.

“Wait, what-”

“Aves sumus,” Yoongi declared proudly.

For a beat, nothing happened.

Jin laughed, shaking his head. “See, I told you it was-“

Jin’s head swirled. It was like he was about to faint, the whole room moving around him with the force of an earthquake. The book clattered to the floor beside him.

“-garbage.” Jin stared down at the book, not quite contemplating what happened. He felt funny. Smaller, somehow. He was standing on the edge of the couch, the coffee table, which had been in arm’s reach the moment before, seemed to be miles away from him. But that was impossible. How could the coffee table move in the blink of an eye? “Why did you drop-“ Jin turned towards Yoongi.

Except Yoongi was no longer next to him. In his place was a beautiful blue parakeet with his head tilted to one side as he peered at Jin.

“Uh, Yoongi… I don’t know how to tell you this, but... you’re a bird.”

The bird – Yoongi – hopped to face Jin. “What do you think you are then?” Yoongi countered without missing a beat.

Jin froze as Yoongi’s words washed over him. He couldn’t really be a bird. That was ridiculous!

He glanced down at his body, taking in the vibrant green feathers in place of his body and orange claws that stood where his feet once were.

“Yoongi, what did you do?!” Jin screamed. He could feel his wings stretching at the exclamation, unable to stay still as he felt his heart rate increase. “Are you stupid, why would you read something from the magic book out loud?” Jin edged his way closer to the end of the sofa, contemplating the best way to get onto the floor so he could read the blasted book and find a way to turn them back. “And you’re stupid enough to drop the damn book, gah. So stupid, I swear-“

But the rest of his sentence was forgotten as Yoongi’s body slammed into his and they both went tumbling towards the floor.

Dazed, Jin could only lie there as the sound of Taehyung walking through the lounge passed them, his brief call of ‘bye’ ringing through the quiet apartment. And then the door closed and any hope of seeking a human’s help - and hands - went out of the window.

Jin clambered to his feet – talons? “Why would you do that!” he screeched.

“He would have freaked out!” Yoongi struggled to stand, shaking his feathers once upright.

Jin wanted to strangle Yoongi but he doubted his claws would wrap around Yoongi’s neck enough to satisfy the urge.

“But he could have helped us!” Jin hopped towards Yoongi, his temper rising. Jin wasn’t one to lose his cool very often, but considering the current situation, he felt like he was fine to be stressed out.

Yoongi, however, remained un-phased as he stretched out his wings and inspected them. “Eh, we can figure it out ourselves.”

Jin was sure that if they were both human, Yoongi would have shrugged. Instead, Yoongi’s wings gave a slight shudder in what you could have only assumed to be a shrug.

“Fantastic. And how do you propose we do that without opposable thumbs?” Jin’s head tilted towards the book laying face down on the floor beside them.

“Easy. We just need to turn the book.” Yoongi hopped until he was standing on the book. In his mind, it was quite simple. He would grip the hardback cover between his claws and somehow utilise his wings to fly upwards until the book naturally turned over by sheer force of gravity.

It was a brilliant idea, Yoongi concluded, because of how simple it was. And everyone knew that the best ideas were always the simplest.

Jin watched as Yoongi struggled to even lift off from the ground. His friend hopped like mad, but no matter how fast he flapped his wings, Yoongi never stayed up for longer than a moment.

“Maybe try flapping your wings slower,” Jin mused, struggling to keep the humour from his voice. Despite how depressing the whole situation was, he had to admit watching Yoongi trying to flip the book was hilarious. He was pretty sure the only time he’d seen the sullen musician move this much was when Jungkook had tried wrestling him. And even then, that was only to lock himself in his room before Jungkook could get a hold of him.

“Shut up, hyung. I… got… this…” Yoongi huffed. He stopped jumping, planting his talons firmly on the edge of the book. He took a moment to spread his wings. He had this. If birds could figure it out, so could he.

He flapped his wings hard. Once. Twice. Three times.

He hovered, slowly gaining more height. Jin whopped as he watched Yoongi slowly taking off from the ground.

But he wasn’t moving fast enough and Yoongi could feel the energy drain from his body. So he did what he thought was the logical thing to do; he started to flap his wings harder. But as he tried to keep the momentum going, he found his body naturally leaned forward and caused him to fly straight into the coffee table with a loud ‘thud’.

The book dropped pathetically to its original position as Yoongi’s head connected to the side of the table, landing on his back beneath it. He groaned, trying to figure out exactly where he had gone wrong when Jin’s green feathered face appeared.

“I told you, stupid. We need Taehyung.”

Yoongi glared up at him. “Fine. Point made.” Yoongi rolled onto his front, talons comically running with the side of his beak firmly pressed to the ground as he attempted to stand once more. Once up, a shudder passed through him, wings briefly opening before settling back at his side. “We’ll just have to wait for him to come home.”

“But we don’t know how long he’ll be!” Jin whined, his talons hitting the wooden floor in quick succession. It was a lewd imitation of one of his famous strops.

Yoongi rolled his eyes as he hid behind the leg of the coffee table. He wondered if Jin would notice if he laid down for a few moments. Yoongi was just about to settle himself down when-

“Ah!” Jin tripped over the book.

“Are you finished with your strop now?” Yoongi asked, his amusement not quite hidden in his tone.

“This is all your fault!” Jin cried as he rolled back onto his front and standing with considerably more ease than Yoongi had. “We have no idea how long this – this curse will last! You could have turned us into birds forever, Yoongi. Forever!”

“Sheesh, I’m sure this is all temporary, Jin hyung. No need to get your boxers in a twist.”

“We don’t know that, you idiot. You don’t even know what you said in the first place. For all you know you could have said “I want to be turned into a freaking pigeon for the rest of my life!”

Yoongi hummed. “We’re certainly not pigeon’s, hyung. We look more like budgies.” Yoongi turned to look back at Jin..

“Oh-oh-oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. Maybe if I was still in my human body, maybe I could have googled the answer before speaking!” Jin snapped.

Yoongi rolled his eyes. This was all pointless now. The deed was done, they just had to deal with it. Besides, Yoongi thought as he stretched out his wings, he had always dreamt about flying. If he could figure it out, the deal wouldn’t be so bad.

Jin stopped pacing as he mulled over Yoongi’s words.

“Jin?” Yoongi stepped closer towards him. “Earth to Jin?”

Jin’s gaze snapped back to Yoongi. “That’s it!” Jin’s talon’s slapped against the wooden floor as he sprinted out of the room.

“Agh, Jin! What did you figure out?” Yoongi made no attempt to follow his older brother. Not because he wasn’t curious. He was, but all that jumping and flapping wings had really taken it out of him and he really didn’t feel like sprinting after Jin.

There was silence for a few moments. Then the sound of something hitting the floor and Jin’s frustrated scream.

“Everything okay?” Yoongi called, leaning against one of the legs of the coffee table.

Yoongi was starting to grow concerned by the silence when Jin appeared around the corner.

“Where’s your phone?” Jin demanded, walking slowly towards him.

“On the sofa…” Yoongi watched as Jin moved towards the sofa, standing just at the foot of it.

“Siri, call Taehyung.” Jin screeched. He waited for the acknowledgement before screaming it again.

“Hyung… what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to remotely call Taehyung. What does it look like I’m doing?” Jin snapped.

“Well, it would help if I had Taehyung saved as ‘Taehyung’ on my phone. That and I don’t have Siri.”

“What do you mean you don’t have Siri?”

“I don’t trust it. It’s just… weird.”

“It’s not weird. It’s convenient. You know, like right now.”

Yoongi’s right wing twitched in a poor imitation of a shrug.

“Fat lot of use, you are.” Jin muttered. “There must be something we can do?”

Yoongi watched as Jin started to pace back and forth, talons clacking incessantly. Yoongi doubted that suggesting they simply wait for Taehyung to return would be any help, so he bit his tongue.

Jin groaned as he flopped to the floor. “This is useless. We’re going to die as birds.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Jin. We’re not going to die.”

“Well how do you know that, Yoongi? Did you understand what you read?”

“No.”

“Then we could very well-“

A shrill ring sounded in the apartment, causing both men to freeze.

“Was that- was that the phone?” Jin asked.

“We have a house phone?”

“Yes, you imbecile. We do.” Jin scattered to his feet, chasing after the sound. “Where is it? Where is it?”

“Have you tried Taehyung-ah’s room?”

Jin hurried to the youngster’s bedroom. “Oh for christ sake, it’s on his damn bed.” The ringing stopped. “And there goes our chance.”

“Hello. Your call cannot be taken at this moment-“

“What’s that?” Yoongi called as he searched the room for the source of the voice. His gaze landed on a rectangular box next besides the TV.

“The answering machine! Thank you, Namjoon!”

“Please leave your message after the tone.” A beep sounded. The sound of music filled the room.

“Ah, Jin, Yoongi! Jimin and I have decided we want to hit a few clubs. Don’t wait up for me.” The phone clicked.

Jin appeared from around the corner. “Was that Taehyung’s voice I heard? Did he say he was on his way home?”

Yoongi was frozen to the spot. Jin was not going to like this. “Not… exactly.”

Jin appeared by his side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Taehyung-ah was phoning to let us know that… he won’t be home for a while.”

“What!?”

“They’ve gone clubbing.”

“What!?”

“Now, I know what you’re going to say.” Yoongi stepped away from Jin, who was now gazing at Yoongi as if he was contemplating the slowest and most painful way of murdering him.

“Oh, you do, do you?”

“Yes. And I just want to say.” They both stopped in their tracks, waiting for the others' reaction first. Yoongi took a deep breath. “You’ll have to catch me first.” He was off before he had even finished speaking, using the element of surprise to get a head start.

Jin screeched after him, his words an incomprehensible babble as he charged after Yoongi. He only reached the edge of the sofa when he was stopped by the sound of pounding on the door.

“The door.” Jin changed directions, charging the door. “The door!”

“Jin, watch out!” Yoongi called, far too late.

Jin tried to slow himself down, talons skidding across the floor before colliding head first into the frame.

Yoongi winced.

“Hello?” Jungkook’s muffled voice called from behind the door. “Hyung’s, are you alright?”

“No!” Jin wailed, moving away from the door with a limp. “Junkook-ah, let yourself in. We need your help!”

The handle rattled.

“Please don’t be locked,” Jin prayed.

The door opened slowly, Jungkook’s head appearing around the frame first before the door opened fully.

“Hello?” he called out, glancing around the empty living room. “Jin hyung? Are you here?”

Jin hopped on the ground. “Down here!”

Jungkook frowned as his gaze darted around the room. “Down where?” He stepped into the room. On his second step, his foot landed close to Jin.

Jin shrieked. “Watch where you're stepping!”

Jungkook looked down, eyes widening in surprise.

“Jungkook-ah, we need you to grab that book and-“

Jungkook turned on his heel and fled from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

“Well, that went well,” Yoongi commented.

Jin spun to face him. “You don’t get to speak.” He hissed. “We wouldn’t be having this problem right now if it weren’t for you.”

“Alright, alright. Remind me to buy you some looser boxers when this is all over with.” Yoongi chuckled, but stop when he realised the murder was very real in Jin’s eyes. “Sorry.”

“Now what are we going to do? Jungkook was our one chance to get help.” Jin slouched, dragging his talons as he made his way back over to the coffee table. He paused by the book, then kicked it with his talon before dropping his body on top of it.

Yoongi waddled towards him. “Jungkook’s seen us now. It’s only a matter of time before he walks back through that door to make sure his video game riddled brain wasn’t lying to him.”

Jin groaned, not bothering to lift his head from the book.

“I’m telling you, hyung. Jin’s a pigeon.” The door swung open once more and Hoseok and Jungkook stepped inside.

Hoseok rubbed his eyes. “I don’t believe you.” He said in a pout.

They both stopped to stare at Yoongi who was still standing in the middle of the room.

“Jungkook. Hoseok. Nothing to see here.” Yoongi waddled towards Jin.

“Ah, why would you tell them that! We need their help!” Jin snapped as he got back up onto his talons.

“See, I told you.” Jungkook smugly turned to Hoseok.

Hoseok's eyes widened at the sight, before he promptly fainted.

“Oh, yeah. Probably should have suspected that would happen.” Jungkook chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand briefly before closing the door.

“I’ll deal with him.” Yoongi puffed out his chest as he moved towards Hoseok’s body.

“Jungkook-ah, get your butt over here and pick this book up!” Jin demanded, hopping in front the book to garner the younger man’s attention.

“Why, what’s a book going to do?” Jungkook slowly picked the book up, frowning as he flicked through the pages.

“Well it’s this blasted book that got us into this mess. Now pick me up so I can read too,” Jin whined, flaying his head from side to side until Jungkook offered Jin his palm. As soon as Jungkook placed him on the table, Jin pecked the table. “Put the book here.”

“Cor, you're still as bossy as ever, hyung,” Jungkook muttered.

“You’re telling me,” Yoongi agreed, inspecting Hoseok’s sleeping floor. “How the hell am I supposed to slap him with no hands?” He mused.

“Your wings?” Jungkook offered absentmindedly as he turned another page in the book.

Yoongi considered it for a moment, before shrugging. There was no harm in trying, after all.

Using his talons, he struggled to lift himself up onto Hoseok’s sleeping form. His talons grabbed while he utilised his beak to hoist himself up. Once settled onto his chest, he waddled his way to Hoseok's face. He stretched his wings, contemplating the best way to slap him before deciding to just go with it.

What he didn’t expect was how lightly his wings would hit Hoseok’s face.

Hoseok giggled, a happy smile plastered onto his face.

“Jungkook-ah, it’s not working.” Yoongi stopped his assault with a sigh.

“That tickles,” Hoseok giggled, eyes opening slowly. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment before his eyes landed on Yoongi.

“Morning, sunshine,” Yoongi chirped.

Hoseok screamed, knocking Yoongi off his chest in his attempt to stand.

Yoongi landed on his feet with a shudder. “Watch what you’re doing!” He barked.

“He’s a bird!” Hoseok pointed at Yoongi as he sought out Jungkook.

“Yeah, so’s Jin,” Jungkook commented without looking up from the book.

“Hoseok, stop playing around and help us fix this.” Jin stamped his talons on the coffee table. “And bring that fool with you.”

Hoseok looked wearily at Yoongi.

“Stop looking at me like that. I’m not going to bite.” Yoongi cocked his head. “Much.”

Hoseok glared at Yoongi, but slowly lowered himself to the ground and offered Yoongi his hand. Yoongi hopped on happily, whistling as Hoseok lowered him to the table.

Jin shouldered him. “I don’t know what you’re so happy about.”

“What’s not to be happy about?”

“You do realise birds don’t sleep as often as humans, right hyung?” Jungkook finally looked up from the book with a smile.

“What?” Yoongi froze.

“Yeah, and their life span is shorter,” Jin chipped in.

Yoongi stopped closer to Jungkook. “Turn me back. I can’t live like this.”

“Finally!” Jin groaned.

“Are you all quite finished?” Jungkook laughed. “I think I found one.”

“I am so lost right now,” Hoseok whined, looking between them all in absolute bafflement.

“What part of Yoongi read from a damn cursed book and turned us into bloody birds do you not understand?” Jin huffed.

“All of it.” Hoseok sat down heavily on the sofa.

“You really thought Einstein here was going to help? Why didn’t you grab Namjoon?” Yoongi laughed.

“Namjoon went out to meet up with Taehyung and Jimin. Trust me, hyung. He wouldn’t have been my first choice either.” Jungkook smiled.

“Hey! I can be useful!” Hoseok protested, grabbing the book from the table and standing. “Let’s see. What about this one here?”

“No!” Jungkook, Yoongi, and Jin all yelled. Jungkook attempted to grab the book from Hoseok, but it was too late. He had already finished reading the sentence.

For a moment nothing happened.

“What a load of-” Hoseok started but stopped when he realised that he was no longer standing on the floor. “Uh-oh.”

Jungkook grabbed the book from Hoseok. “That’s why we weren’t reading from the book.” He tapped Hoseok’ head with the book before sitting back down. “Right, let’s try this again.”

Ten spells, a broken vase, an exploded lightbulb, and a very confusing body swap later, Jungkook finally found the right spell.

A bright light filled the apartment, blinding them all. Once their vision had returned, Yoongi and Jin were back in the right bodies and Hoseok was back on the ground.

The four men collapsed onto the sofa, staring at the complete disaster zone the living room had become.

“All in favour of burning that blasted book, say aye.” Jin said.

“Aye.” The other three agreed in unison.

“What happened here?” Taehyung stood in the open front door and stared around the living room with his mouth wide open.

“You don’t even want to know, Tae.” Jungkook shook his head.

Taehyung slowly approached them. “Seriously, you look like you just went to war?”

“Sure feels like it too,” Yoongi groaned as he stretched his neck.

Taehyung picked up the book from the coffee table, idly flicking it open. “I wonder what this says?” He mused.

Hoseok jumped to his feet and slapped the book to the floor. “No!” He pointed his finger in Taehyung’s face. “We are not going through that again.”

Taehyung laughed. “You read it out loud, didn’t you?” He picked the book up, shaking his head. “Rooky mistake.” He walked back to his room, continuing to chuckle to himself.

“I don’t believe it.” Jin gasped. “The git knew.”

“What other magical stuff is he hiding in there?” Yoongi mused.

“I swear, if you turn yourself into something else, I am not helping.” Hoseok threw up his hands.

While the four boys continued to bicker in the living room, Taehyung closed the door to his bedroom and walked over to his bookshelf. He skimmed over the titles of the books before finally settling on a brown leather-bound book, not unlike the one he held in his hand.

He opened the page and smiled. “Just what I thought.” He closed the book and replaced it on the shelf, placing beside it the one he had acquired that day.

He knew it had sounded familiar when Mr Choi had described the book and now, he knew why. It was, in fact, one of the books his granny had transcribed. He laughed as he imagined the sort of trouble his friends had got themselves into.

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