Chapter Text
Year One
⟷
Seokjin steadied himself on the tire swing, maneuvering his legs through the center and tightening his grip on the rope as the passing big yellow moving van slowed down in front of the old Lee house. There used to be a family there, a human family who decided to move out when more wolves started to move in. They had a pup-- a kid-- named Jaehwan. He went to the same school as Seokjin and they had even been in the same class, but he never played with the wolves. Seokjin hadn't been too surprised when he saw them pack up and leave.
A minute or two passed by before a woman stepped off the truck, opening the door wide as she and her husband pushed the seat forward so two kids could slide out. Seokjin wrinkled his nose as he watched them stretch, feeling the phantom aches of being cooped up in a car for too long. It made his wolf uncomfortable being in tight spaces with no room to run, and even his more 'human' side hated it. His mother said he would grow out of it. Something about growing pains.
There were two boys, one around Seokjin's age and the other a few years younger. He couldn't tell catch their scents since he was too far away, but he knew right off the bat that they were a human family. They didn't have the telltale yellow streaks in their eyes, for one, and when the woman bent down to hug her children she didn't scentmark or nuzzle them like his mother did to him.
A rustling behind him made Seokjin turn away from his new neighbors, but he couldn't help but smile at the site of his favorite one. Taehyung looked like he had been rolling around in the dirt, and he was grinning like he was proud of it. "Hyung, we got newbies."
"You noticed," Seokjin snorted, turning his attention back to the new family. They were already getting down boxes and bags, the two boys managing light items as their parents did most of the heavy lifting. "They're humans."
"You noticed." Seokjin rolled his eyes, and Taehyung smiled. Taehyung plopped down on the grass next to where Seokjin was dangling, cradling his chin in his hands and resting his elbows on his knees. "Think they're cool?"
"Dunno," Seokjin said, kicking his feet to get a little momentum. The humans weren't doing anything, anyways, and he was getting bored. “Can’t tell yet.”
"Maybe one of them will be in my class or your class at school," Taehyung suggested. He looked excited about it, and Seokjin didn't blame him. Jaehwan couldn't befriend them, but maybe these two could. "We'd know if they were cool then."
Seokjin smiled, closing his eyes when the air from swinging started to dry them out. "Maybe."
He wasn't going to hope for it considering how humans could be with their fragile kids, but he didn't want to rain on Taehyung's parade. Taehyung was two years younger than him, but they were friends since their parents were friends. Taehyung was pack. It was easier to play with other pups than it was to play with kids. Even then, Taehyung liked to make friends with pups and kids. Seokjin liked to, too, but he knew better than to think that all the human parents liked the idea of their kids roughhousing with the wolves.
Seokjin wrinkled his nose. He hoped this family would be different.
⟷
"We need to make a good impression," Seokjin's mother tutted, smoothing down the cowlicks in Seokjin's hair after placing a plate with treats in his hands. "They're in a new place, I'm sure they would appreciate the gesture."
"I didn't say anything," Seokjin said, smiling a little when his mother frowned at him.
"I think one of the boys is your age," she said, turning him around by the shoulders and leading him outside of the house. Seokjin was glad his father and older brothers weren't home. The poor humans would probably feel weird seeing a whole wolf family on their porch. "Let's go make you a friend."
Seokjin didn't both objecting for the sake of his own sanity, holding the plate carefully as they made their way down the street and crossed over to the new family's home. It didn't smell weird, but it didn't smell comforting like a wolf den, either. It smelled too new, like fresh paint and detergent.
Seokjin rocked on his feet as his mother knocked, glancing at the windows to see if anyone would peek out from behind the curtains to see who was there. No one did, and Seokjin turned his head when the door opened instead.
The woman from the previous day was there, an apron tied around her waist and a tired look in her eyes. "Hello?"
Seokjin's mother smiled, and Seokjin held the plate in front of him like he had been instructed to. "Hello! I hope we're not bothering you. We wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood. This is my youngest son, Seokjin."
Seokjin spaced out after politely saying hello, not really wanting to listen to the two mothers exchanging hellos and introductions and thank yous, looking into the house to catch the eye of the two kids hovering at the stairs. He didn't bother waving, and neither did they.
He looked up again when the woman, Mrs. Jeon, beckoned her children over to introduce them. "These are my two boys," she said, smiling down at them with something Seokjin might think of as pride. She placed her hands on the shoulders of both her boys, and Seokjin "This is Jeonghyeon, my eldest, and Jeongguk is my youngest."
"Hello," Seokjin said, knowing that his mother was going to prompt him to do so. She smiled down at him, happy, and he felt like he had at least done one thing right.
Seokjin's mother confirmed Seokjin's suspicion that the two boys would be going to same schools as Seokjin had. Jeonghyeon was a year older than him, so they probably wouldn’t cross paths. Jeongguk was three years younger, so they wouldn't be in the same school. He smelled sweet, even from where Seokjin was standing, kind of like the hard candies Seokjin liked. It wasn't the sticky kind of sweet that kids usually smelled like when they ate a lot of candy, and that confused Seokjin. It must be his natural scent.
He must have looked confused, or something, since his mother squeezed his shoulder. He blinked, looking up at her before going back to a smile. His mother hummed, pleased, and turned back to continue her conversation with Mrs. Jeon. They rambled on about future neighborhood get togethers-- Seokjin's mother liked to throw block parties and invite everyone to participate to promote unity or something like that-- and Seokjin stood there with his plate of treats trying to figure out why that Jeongguk kid smelled so sweet. The two Jeon boys, on the other hand, eventually retreated back into the house when their mother patted their heads.
Seokjin didn't blame them.
His mother seemed to sense his discomfort, wrapping up the conversation with a few more kind words and finally having Seokjin pass over the treats. Mrs. Jeon seemed appreciative, and Seokjin was glad that the whole trip wasn't for nothing. They seemed nice, and for that Seokjin was relieved. It would have sucked to have another human family that wasn't comfortable around wolves.
Seokjin's mother was pleased when they got home, squeezing her arm around Seokjin's shoulders as she closed the door behind her and pulled off her coat. They slipped off their shoes, and Seokjin made sure he didn't kick his off so he wouldn't get scolded. "They seem like nice people."
"Yeah," Seokjin hummed. "Taehyung wanted to make friends with them."
"Sweet boy," she cooed. "What did you think of the boys?"
"They were alright," Seokjin said, shrugging his shoulders as he pulled off his jacket and hung it next to where his mother had hung hers. "The younger one smelled like candy."
Seokjin's mother blinked, pausing in front of the coat rack. "Candy?"
"Like...the artificial kind? You know those hard candies grandma brings us? The honey ones."
"Huh." His mother tilted her head, her lips pursing. "He didn't smell like much of anything to me."
She had that tone to her voice, the one that told Seokjin that she wasn't saying everything that was on her mind. Seokjin wasn't sure if he wanted to find out what she was hiding. If it was important it would come up eventually. "I dunno. Maybe I was wrong."
His mother hummed, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked towards the kitchen. "Maybe. Go clean up, alright? Your father and brothers will be home soon with dinner."
"Alright," Seokjin chirped, making sure his shoes were neatly lined up before heading up the stairs.
He could feel his mother's eyes on his back as he moved up the stairs, but he decided to let it go. If it was something important then she would've said something.
⟷
Seokjin wasn't forced to meet with the humans for the rest of the week, and he didn't notice, too busy trying to enjoy the last remnants of his vacation. Taehyung kept him busy, gossiping about this and that and trying to convince Seokjin to go over to the Jeon place and try to make friends, but Seokjin was never easily convinced.
Taehyung gave up after a few days, choosing instead to drag Jimin over there, and Seokjin paid them no mind. He spent the last day of his vacation cramming with Yoongi over their dictionaries and notes and books, since Yoongi was determined to do well in school that year. Seokjin didn't bother telling him that, if he was serious, he should have started weeks ago.
The first day went by unceremoniously, and before Seokjin knew it he and Yoongi were already heading back home.
He had a thin stack of money in his wallet, money he earned from mowing lawns and helping the elderly Yoo couple down the road with their dog over the break, and he was about to invite Yoongi to the convenience store to grab a snack when he heard Taehyung's voice yelling behind him.
Yoongi snorted, and Seokjin let out a dejected sigh as he turned around to greet him, shoving away all thoughts of snacks. If they got snacks then Taehyung would want snacks, which meant Seokjin would have to pay for those extra snacks.
Seokjin curled his lips back to complain, only to blink in surprise when Taehyung waved his arms above his head, nearly smacking the Jeon boy-- Jeongguk-- in the face. "Hyung!"
"Taehyung," Seokjin sighed, rubbing the side of his neck. Leave it to Taehyung to make friends. "I told you to meet us at the street corner near the neighborhood. Why're you still all the way over here?"
"I waited for Jeongguk," Taehyung said, all smiled as he pointed to Jeongguk over his shoulder. Jimin was there too, laughing along at Seokjin and Yoongi's confusion. Seokjin eyed Jeongguk carefully, but Jeongguk wasn't looking at him. He was staring at the ground, thumbs locked between his chest and his backpack straps as he rocked on his heels.
Seokjin huffed. His wolf felt disgruntled, and so did he. Probably the snacks. "Fine. C'mon, we gotta get home. It's getting dark."
"This is Yoongi hyung," Taehyung said, looping his arm over Jeongguk's shoulders once they started to walk towards their homes. Yoongi lifted his hand up to wave, that familiar puppy-like expression of curiosity on his face with the introduction of a human into their usually tight knit wolf group. Yoongi was different than them, though. His aunt was a human. "You already know Jin hyung."
"It's nice to meet you," Jeongguk said, bowing his head as Yoongi hummed out a similar formality.
Seokjin tuned them out as they walked, staring up into the trees as the birds chirped and bounced around. The more animalistic side of him wanted to give chase and have some fun, but he hadn't chased an animal since he was a puppy. Taehyung chased a squirrel at a pack outing a couple years back and Seokjin laughed so hard he nearly peed his pants.
They dropped Jeongguk off first, since the rest of them lived further down the block, and Seokjin watched in amusement as Taehyung gathered him up in a hug and said that Jeongguk had to walk with them to school in the morning. Jeongguk mumbled something about having to ask his parents, but something about the shy smile on his face had Seokjin think that it wouldn't be the last time Jeongguk walked with them.
⟷
"Jeongguk's my new best friend," Taehyung chirped, kicking his feet out hard to get the swing moving. The branches above moaned in protest, but Taehyung wasn't to be deterred.
"I thought Jimin was your best friend?" Seokjin asked, spreading his arms out on either side of him. It was getting warmer, and it felt nice to just sprawl out on the grass and enjoy the sun while their mothers socialized inside. "Or me."
"You're my brother," Taehyung said, the 'duh' evident in his tone. Seokjin rolled his eyes. "And Minnie is my best friend! Jeongguk's just my new best friend."
Seokjin rolled his eyes. "You're best friends with anyone who speaks to you for more than five minutes. But alright. He's cool."
"Isn't he?" Taehyung chirped. Seokjin figured he was smiling. "His brother's kinda weird, but Jeonggukkie is awesome. Did you know he has that new basketball video game? We were playing it last night and I almost forgot to get back home in time."
Seokjin hummed as Taehyung continued to ramble on and on about how cool Jeongguk was, even if he was a year younger than him and Jimin, and how smart he was, and how awesome it would be if Jeongguk could skip a year to be in their class. It was nice to see Taehyung making more friends, it was, but something about it, something about Jeongguk, made Seokjin feel restless.
⟷
Seokjin brushed his hands over his pants, wiping the grass off them and laughing to himself as Jimin and Taehyung wrestled. Yoongi was unbothered, drinking some of the water Jimin's mother put out for them, calling out whenever one of the pups scored a point. The score was 3-3, and Seokjin had a feeling that another fight was going to start as soon as one of them lost. That's how it usually went down, anyways.
"Hyung?"
Seokjin tilted his head to the side, keeping an eye on the fight and an eye on the ever curious Jeongguk. "Yeah?"
"Doesn't that hurt?"
Seokjin relented, following Jeongguk's gaze down to Seokjin's knee where a cut was bleeding. He shrugged, applying pressure to the cut with the palm of his hand. If his mother were with them she might've complained that his hands were dirty, but how much damage could his hand do anyways? "Not really. I'm used to it."
"You're strong, hyung," Jeongguk said, squatting down and staring at the injury with eyes wide as saucers. "You took down Jimin hyung really fast."
Seokjin smiled, that animalistic pride building in his chest and forcing his chest to puff out. "I'm bigger than he is, it isn't too hard to get him to submit."
Jeongguk laughed, shrugging his shoulders and glancing over to the puppy pile that was Taehyung and Jimin as Yoongi called out another point. "Jimin's smaller than Taehyung and he takes him down."
Seokjin snorted, stretching his legs out and ignoring the stinging. "Taehyung's soft, he doesn't fight to win."
Jeongguk grinned, tilting his head as he watched Jimin celebrating his win. Taehyung was whining like a sore loser, but he smiled and laughed when Jimin tackled him in a hug. "I wish I could wrestle with you guys."
"You're not allowed to," Seokjin deadpanned. He bared his teeth for emphasis. "Remember?"
Jeongguk didn't care about the intimidation tactic, laughing behind his hand instead. "Yeah, yeah, big teeth and bigger claws. I know."
Seokjin hummed, standing up when Yoongi gestured him over to wrestle again. "Exactly. Now watch and learn."
⟷
"You're getting along with the Jeon boys," his mother said, smiling as she served him more food. "Mrs. Jeon seemed happy to mention you and your little friend group when I ran into her this morning."
Seokjin eyed his brothers, swallowing the food in his mouth. They would tease him as soon as they got the chance, so he didn’t want to give them any ammunition. "Taehyung is friends with Jeongguk, so he hangs out with us."
"That's nice," she hummed, sharing a look with his father. Seokjin resisted the urge to make a face. His brothers were already snickering.
"You have a human pet?" His oldest brother joked, just to get on his nerves.
Seokjin bared his teeth, annoyance flooding through his veins. "No. He's not a pet. Mom."
"Hush," his mother scolded, lifting up her chin in warning. Seokjin's shoulders fell forward, frowning as he stuffed his mouth with food. "Don't be rude. How would you like it if they called you a dog?"
That shut him up, his other brothers quieting down as well as his father hid his laughter behind a cough. Seokjin grumbled behind his food, no longer feeling quite hungry but knowing better than to not finish what was on his plate.
⟷
Jeongguk still smelled like candy. It was kind of weird, because Seokjin didn't understand why he did. The other pups around their age smelled like a mixture of their parents and that baby kind of milky scent, so it caught Seokjin off guard every time Jeongguk leaned close enough for Seokjin to catch that scent. He didn't bother bringing it up again to his mother, and he didn't care to tell his friends, either. Part of him figured Jeongguk just ate a lot of candy.
Jeongguk grabbed onto Seokjin's wrist, jumping when an explosion sounded on the television, and Seokjin snorted, narrowly avoiding Jeongguk headbutting his chin.
He caught a waft of that sugary scent, but it was gone as quick as it came, and Seokjin ignored the confusion at the back of his mind with a handful of popcorn.
"Taehyung-ah," Yoongi mumbled, "what the heck are we watching."
"It's a good show," Taehyung huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I want to watch something else," Jimin chirped, smiling when Yoongi lifted his hand up for a high five. Taehyung looked sullen as the two teamed up against him, eventually giving in and changing the station to something a little less terrible.
Seokjin snickered and Jeongguk laughed, too, clapping his hands in front of him when Taehyung and Jimin started to bicker again.
Year Two
⟷
"Hyung," Jeongguk whined, wrapping his hands around Seokjin's bicep and pressing himself closer. The tip of his nose was red, and Seokjin was sure that if he wasn't wearing a hat his ears would be red, too. "I don't want to go to school."
"You survived the last year well enough," Seokjin teased, poking Jeongguk's cheek and looking over when Taehyung yelled for them to hurry up.
"I think everyone went easy on me because I was the new kid," Jeongguk huffed, speeding up along with Seokjin so Taehyung wouldn't yell again. "Or maybe not. Hyung?"
Seokjin grunted, pulling his scarf higher up to warm up his exposed neck. Of course Jeongguk got along well with everyone. He was a good kid, it was hard to dislike him. "What?"
"Can I come over after school today? Tae hyung and Jimin hyung said they were going. Yoongi hyung, too."
Seokjin looked down at him, raising a curious brow. Jeongguk never asked before. It was pretty much a given that they travelled as a group. "Well...yeah."
Jeongguk frowned. "Okay."
He hurried along, walking past Seokjin and past Yoongi to where Taehyung was bounding ahead, Jimin nearly sprinting to keep his position at the front of the pack. Seokjin stared at him in confusion, and a little bit of shock, and continued to do so until Yoongi slowed down to match his pace.
"What's with him?" Yoongi said in between bites of the bread in his hands. Seokjin grabbed a piece for himself, shrugging his shoulders as he popped it into his mouth.
"Dunno," Seokjin mumbled, tilting his head as Jeongguk and Taehyung started to shove each other and Jimin got farther and farther away. "Something about coming over today?"
Yoongi hummed, finishing off the bread before Seokjin could steal any more. "Weird."
"Yeah," Seokjin sighed, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. "Weird."
Jeongguk's strange behavior in the morning continued to bug Seokjin the whole day, admittedly making him a little distracted during the school day, and if Yoongi noticed his brooding he didn't say anything about it. Seokjin felt restless, and he attributed it to Jeongguk brushing him off. Jeongguk had never done that before. He had been shy, sure, but he never seemed to be mad or upset. It was frustrating Seokjin to no end.
By the time they were done with school for the day, the sky already mixing with dark orange and blue and purple, Seokjin was itching to figure out what was wrong. Yoongi was rambling on and on about some music he was borrowing from one of the other wolves in their class, and it was a simple enough distraction until they met up with the kids at the usual corner.
Jeongguk was laughing while Taehyung and Jimin crafted a special handshake, clapping his hands in front of his face and looking like he was in a much better mood than he had been in the morning. Something similar to relief flooded Seokjin's mind as they approached, and he lifted his hand up to wave to them as Yoongi called out some teasing words.
Taehyung laughed, breaking apart from Jimin to tackle Yoongi in a hug. He started rambling on about their day, and Seokjin would be lying if he said he was listening. Instead, he was focused on Jeongguk, who started to quiet up as soon as Seokjin and Yoongi made their presence known.
Seokjin frowned, approaching Jeongguk anyways and placing a hand on top of his head. Jeongguk blinked up at him, as if he was surprised, and Seokjin dropping his arm around his shoulders. "C'mon, my mom's making dinner."
Jeongguk faltered, his feet stumbling as Seokjin started down the road towards their neighborhood. "Uh, okay, hyung."
Jeongguk was quieter than Seokjin was used to, but he knew better than to push. It was the first day of school, after all, and Seokjin was feeling tired himself. Maybe it was stress.
They got to Seokjin's house in no time, the warmth of the den making any discomfort melt away from Seokjin's bones as his mother greeted them and urged them to come inside and make themselves comfortable. His father was up in his office, working on some big project or something, and his brothers were still at school. Seokjin was grateful for that, considering some of their...colorful opinions towards humans. He had a theory that they didn't even care about humans and just liked making Seokjin's life a living hell.
"How was school?" His mother ruffled his hair as the other boys washed up, brushing her scent over him to mask the other scents that had clung to Seokjin throughout the day. His stomach was on the verge of eating itself, but he knew better than to act like an animal (ha) and rush to the table.
"Fine," he hummed, closing his eyes with a wince when she playfully pinched his earlobe. "Mom."
"Don't be like that," she cooed, patting the top of his head. "You're upset, but I won't push."
He grunted, rubbing the side of his neck as he helped set out the various side dishes and utensils needed for their house guests. He had to admit it was much more fun to eat together with all his friends when they were at someone else's house and he didn't have to do much, considering how lazy he felt after a long day. "I'm fine."
"Alright," his mother said, smiling knowingly. "I'll believe it when I see it."
Seokjin made a face, plopping down on his usual seat when Yoongi came back first. They made small talk as the rest of the boys trickled in, Jimin and Taehyung acting on their best behavior for a total of five seconds before they started bickering. Jeongguk was quiet, but he was usually quiet around Seokjin's parents, anyways. Taehyung said Jeongguk was shy, even after all so much time.
Dinner went by as usual, with the boys being over-the-top and Seokjin's mother dragging them back down to reality with a few teasing words, and Seokjin couldn't deny that he felt a lot better after filling his stomach with a hot meal.
Jeongguk even loosened up by the end, laughing along with the other boys and answering Seokjin's mother's questions about his family whenever he was prompted.
They managed to convince Seokjin's mom to let them watch television for about an hour before they all had to go home-- curfews and homework and all that-- and Seokjin would say that it was a pretty successful night. He ended up with the job of walking Jeongguk home, considering Yoongi and Taehyung and Jimin lived in the opposite direction and Seokjin was the oldest, and any other day that would have been fine.
Well. It wasn't any other day.
It was dark outside, dark enough that Seokjin had to focus to see Jeongguk's expression, but not nearly dark enough to make Seokjin feel any less confused or uncomfortable.
"Jeongguk-ah," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair at a lame attempt to hide his frustration, "what's wrong?"
Jeongguk faltered, as if he was surprised that Seokjin was asking, before stuttering out a gently, "I-I don't know what you're talking about, hyung."
"You're a bad liar," Seokjin said, puffing out his cheeks. "Did something happen?"
Jeongguk shook his head, looking down at the path in front of them as they walked. "Well..."
Seokjin waited, patient as he could be given how curious he was. He didn't want to push Jeongguk, but it was bothering him that Jeongguk was upset and he didn't know why.
"It's...alright that I come around all the time, right?" Jeongguk's voice was barely audible above the sounds of the neighborhood, and Seokjin might not have heard him if he weren't a wolf.
A part of him was so shocked by the question that he didn't think he heard right. Jeongguk's reaction to him in the morning was starting to make sense, and Seokjin didn't like it. "Why wouldn't it be?"
Jeongguk made a disgruntled noise, wrapping his arms around his middle. "Well...your brothers don't like me, and, um, my dad said I shouldn't..."
"Run with the wolves?" Seokjin finished, frowning as he stopped in his tracks. Jeongguk stopped, too, looking as embarrassed as Seokjin felt. "My brothers are dicks, it really has nothing to do with you."
Jeongguk huffed, pouting out his bottom lip. "Hyung..."
"You're our friend," Seokjin said, crossing his arms over his chest. "We want you to hang out with us, Jeongguk-ah. It doesn't matter if you're human."
He felt a little bit ridiculous, but it needed to be said, didn't it? Jeongguk might be new to their friend group, but even if he wasn't a wolf he got along with them great. Seokjin would be lying if he said he wasn't fond of him. His wolf liked him, too, as funny as that might be.
Jeongguk laughed, sounding surprised. "You think?"
Seokjin smiled, tipping forward to wrap his arm around Jeongguk's shoulders. Jeongguk giggled, folding into him like he hadn't even been upset in the first place. "I know. C'mon, lame-o, let's get you home before your mom calls mine and starts the search party."
Jeongguk smiled, tipping his head down to hide it. "Yeah. Okay, hyung."
⟷
"He's stealing him away," Taehyung whined. He had a stack of plates in his hands that Seokjin was grabbing from to set the table, their moms finishing up some dishes in the kitchen.
"I'm not stealing anyone away," Seokjin growled, resisting the urge to nip at Taehyung in fear of both their mothers hitting him. "You're making something out of nothing."
"Am not," Taehyung huffed, crossing his arms over his chest after putting down the last plate. "Jeonggukkie is my best friend, hyung."
"I hang out with him the same amount that I always have," Seokjin huffed back, sliding into his seat as his mother started to serve the food. "As in, I only see him when we're all together."
Seokjin's mother laughed, ruffling Taehyung's hair on the way back to the kitchen. "Why are you so jealous, sweetheart?"
"Because Jeongguk likes him better," Taehyung whined, plopping down in his seat across from Seokjin and crossing his arms over his chest with an indignant pout.
"No, he doesn't," Seokjin said, shaking his head. "You're being dramatic. Jeongguk likes you a lot."
"I know he does," Taehyung mumbled, sitting up when their mothers came over to join them, "but he likes you better."
"It's because he's older," Mrs. Kim said, winking at Seokjin with a smile as she consoled her son. Taehyung wasn't buying it.
"I'm older."
"Not older enough," Seokjin's mother teased, patting Seokjin on the back as they all started to serve their plates and dig in. "That's just how it is, Taehyung-ah. The older the friend, the more the appeal."
"That's so lame," Taehyung said through a flurry of eating, his shoulders slumping as he stuffed his cheeks more. If he weren't upset Seokjin figured their mothers would have scolded him for being sloppy. He hid his laugh behind his hand.
"Jeongguk is still as close to you as ever, brat, so what are you even talking about?" Seokjin sighed, scooting over one of Taehyung's favorite dishes at a lame attempt to bribe him. "You're exaggerating."
Seokjin's mom flashed him a knowing smile as he and Taehyung continued to bicker, and if Seokjin was paying closer attention he might've caught the look she shared with Mrs. Kim, as well.
⟷
"You're...serious?"
Seokjin got comfortable on Taehyung's bed, yawning as Jimin burrowed into his side. He was about five seconds from falling asleep, and the only thing that was keeping him awake was Taehyung and Jeongguk whispering on the floor next to the bed. Part of him wanted to tell them to go to sleep since they had to be up early in the morning, but he thought that was a little too old man.
"Well, duh. My dad's as big as a car!"
Seokjin ran a hand over his face.
"Oh," Jeongguk breathed. "Um. How big are you?"
"Well," Taehyung started, "uh, I'm not too big yet but that's because I'm still young! Seokjin hyung is bigger than me. He's almost the size of my parents."
"He's older," Jeongguk whispered, "so is he like...the size of a bike?"
Seokjin waited until they quieted down, giggles aside, to shove the sheets over his head and go to sleep.
The morning was just as noisy with Jimin awake to mess around with them, and Yoongi managed to sneak his way into one of the other cars with the older kids while Seokjin was stuck in the car with Jimin, Taehyung, Jeongguk, and Taehyung's father. He managed to call shotgun, at least, but he couldn't complain too much when they ended up blasting music and singing the entire way there. Yoongi was sensitive to loud noises in the morning, so it was probably for the best that he was riding in another car.
The campsite was about an hour away from their neighborhood, and Seokjin could see the wonder in Jeongguk's eyes every time he glanced back at them to joke around or chat. It wasn't too much of a struggle to convince Jeongguk's parents to let him come with them, but that was probably since it was Seokjin's mother that asked and they were going as an entire pack, rather than a single guardian and a bunch of kids.
Then again, the main purpose of the trip was for the wolves to get their monthly jitters out with a moon run, so he was still surprised.
The more he got to know Jeongguk's family, the more he understood that they were pretty open minded and respectful about the whole wolf thing, but the older he got the more he knew that sometimes humans were careful with their young out of necessity, not fear. Human kids were a lot more delicate than wolf pups, after all.
They piled out at the expected arrival time as the last car in the caravan, Jimin's parents and Yoongi's parents already setting up the tents and gathering firewood for the bonfire they were sure to have once the sun went down. There was a bite in the air, but Seokjin could hardly feel it with how excited he was to strip down to his primal skin and run. They used to be able to play around in their wolf skins when they were younger, especially when they first started to walk, but the older they got the more taboo that got. It wasn’t forbidden, but his mother preferred they didn’t shift if they didn’t need to.
A small backyard wasn't exactly the best space for growing wolves to mess around in, after all.
They were allowed to go to the surrounding woods every now and then, but Seokjin enjoyed their monthly camping trips the most. It was kind of interesting having Jeongguk with them, but Seokjin was sure that he was excited. Jeongguk still hadn't seen their wolf forms-- they weren't allowed to show him unsupervised-- so it was bound to be interesting.
Seokjin found himself helping out with dinner, Taehyung and Jimin and Jeongguk running around down by the stream, with one of his brothers while Yoongi was out with one of Taehyung's brothers and Jimin's sister. He could hear them, vaguely, and he just wanted to finish up so they could eat and then finally shift.
His mother ended up scolding him for eating too fast, which made him scowl and slow down as the other kids snickered, but he couldn't help it. The last time he had shifted was during last month's trip, so excuse him for feeling restless. Yoongi brushed their shoulders together, sharing a knowing smile, and Seokjin sighed.
Jeongguk looked amazed when they all started to put away the dishes and got ready their duffle bags to place at the edge of the forest so they weren't forced to come back to the campsite naked. That was more out of respect for Jeongguk since he wasn't used to their nudity, but it was cold, too.
"Hyung," Jeongguk whispered as they all started to head over, "um. What am I supposed to do?"
Seokjin smiled, nudging their shoulders together. "Just keep with me. Jimin and Taehyung get a little too excited, so they might leave you behind on accident." He lowered his voice, even though Jimin and Taehyung were running ahead and messing around with Jimin's sister. Jeongguk blinked up at him. "Ever ride a wolf?"
Jeongguk stared at him in what Seokjin figured was amazement, his eyes widening and a silly smile stretching on his face. "Really, hyung?" His face dropped after a second, his shoulders tensing up as he started to play with his fingers, and Seokjin tilted his head. "Um, is that...safe?"
Seokjin raised a brow. "Why wouldn't it be?"
Jeongguk raised his hands up, glancing around in wonder when a wolf-- Yoongi's brother-- raced by them. He looked ready to jump out of his skin, and Seokjin snorted to himself. "I-I, um, well... it's the full moon..."
Seokjin stared at him for about five seconds before bursting out into laughter, hitting Jeongguk's arm with his elbow and snickering when Jeongguk whined at him. "Seriously? The full moon?"
"Well I don't know!" Jeongguk huffed, crossing his arms and stopped at the edge of the trees when Seokjin did. He pouted as Seokjin put his duffle bag down, averting his eyes as if Seokjin was going to start stripping. "Isn't it like...more dangerous?"
Seokjin snorted, placing his hands on his hips. "No, actually. That's a total myth and pretty stereotypical, Jeongguk-ah."
Jeongguk flushed, rubbing at his cheek with his palm as he stared down at the ground. "Sorry, hyung."
Seokjin sighed, shaking his head and nudging the bag with his foot. "It's really just an excuse for us to have fun with our packs. We feel a pull to the moon because of, like, ancient stuff, but the only wolves that get out of control around this time are babies."
"Oh," Jeongguk mumbled, biting his bottom lip and processing the new information. Seokjin couldn't say he was surprised. "Sorry, hyung."
"You already said that," Seokjin teased, hoping to light up the atmosphere. "C'mon. I'm big enough now that you could hitch a ride on my back. If you want."
The majority of the pack was already running, Seokjin could hear them, and he was itching to join in on the fun. He was sure the others wouldn't notice he wasn't there yet, and he didn't blame them. Running during the full moon was the best feeling.
"Okay," Jeongguk agreed, half a beat later. He didn't look scared, so that was a plus. "Okay, hyung, I want to."
Seokjin tipped his head back with a laugh, shooing him away as he slid behind a tree. "Alright, close your eyes while I shift. I'll let you know when."
Jeongguk grinned, covering his eyes with his hands as Seokjin started to strip. He was too lazy, too excited, to fold his clothes, and he didn't want to make Jeongguk wait for long, anyways. The itch was growing and growing, and he was glad that Jeongguk agreed fast, because he wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to handle it.
He had control, sure, but there was only so much he could handle.
The shift made him whine in discomfort, his bones cracking and popping in their usual way. He was a bit more tense than usual because of the cold, and that never made the shift easy. He heard Jeongguk gasp, and Seokjin hadn't even considered how the kid might react to the sounds of the shift.
Seokjin shook his entire body once he was fully shifted, huffing out as he regained his balance on all four paws. He considered grunting to let Jeongguk know that it was fine to open his eyes again but decided that might scare him more than anything.
He settled on brushing up against Jeongguk's side, snorting when Jeongguk jumped with laughter and surprise. It was kind of fun, if Seokjin was being honest, seeing that look of amazement. A part of him wished that they could communicate, but that was impossible.
"Should I climb on, hyung?" Jeongguk asked, grinning as he took in Seokjin's appearance. "I thought you would be like...gray. But that's cool that you're black. Hyung looks cool."
Seokjin was a little embarrassed to admit that his tail was wagging.
After a few minutes of maneuvering (Seokjin kneeling down and Jeongguk trying to climb on without faceplanting) they managed to start towards the forest. Jeonguk was holding on for dear life, but it wasn't even like Seokjin was going his full speed. It was kind of funny, and Seokjin found himself increasing his speed whenever Jeongguk yelped in excitement. He was being a bit of a brat, maybe, but as long as Jeongguk wasn't scared it was alright.
Seokjin followed the scent of his parents, determined to show his mother what fun they were having, and Jeongguk wrapped his arms around his nape to prevent himself from slipping off. It was warmer with another body on him, and Seokjin was grateful because even with all of his fur the winter air was making his nose cold.
He found his brothers messing around in a clearing and joined them, urging Jeongguk to slide off and mess around with them in the flowers. Jeongguk didn't even seem to mind that he was the only one with two legs, and he perked up when more wolves started to trickle in to play with them. Seokjin was sure that Jeongguk didn't know that he was playing around with Taehyung and Jimin, but he was sure that they would tell him all about it later.
He settled on relaxing in the grass next to Yoongi, snorting when Yoongi started to wrestle and snap at him and ruined his entire plan of actually relaxing before they had to head back.
It was fine. Jeongguk kept glancing back over at him, even as he played, and he managed to get Yoongi to submit more often than not. He was having a good time.
Year Three
⟷
Jeongguk burrowed against Seokjin's side, smiling as the fire crackled in front of them. It was past midnight, but none of the adults bothered telling the kids about bedtimes and resting up when it was a full moon weekend. Jeongguk enjoyed it the most since he wasn't even a wolf but still got to experience the benefits.
Well, almost all the benefits.
Seokjin laughed to himself, slipping one of his arms out of his parka and wrapping it around Jeongguk's shoulders. Jeongguk curled into it like he was waiting for Seokjin to do just that, his teeth chattering as he wrapped his cold arms around Seokjin's waist. His scent was a little weaker than usual, and Seokjin blamed the cold weather. He kind of missed it, if he was being honest with himself. "Cold?"
"F-Freezing," Jeongguk stuttered.
Seokjin was still feeling the adrenaline from the run earlier, but he supposed any normal human would be freezing with how cold it was. Not to mention Jeongguk probably got a crap ton of wind to the face from his spot on Seokjin's back. Taehyung had tried to convince Jeongguk to ride on his back, but Jeongguk refused, teasing Taehyung by saying that Seokjin was bigger and more fun. Taehyung, of course, acted like a brat for the entirety of the run for that comment, but he calmed down after Seokjin wrestled him into submission.
Seokjin cracked a few jokes to Yoongi as their parents roasted more food over the fire, snickering to himself when Yoongi made a face of disgust and told him to fuck off. He looked down to joke around with Jeongguk, too, and smiled when he noticed that Jeongguk somehow managed to nod off.
He squeezed Jeongguk closer to him, hoping that he wouldn't be too cold off in dreamland.
⟷
Seokjin snickered, dodging Yoongi's punches as they messed around during the passing period. The humans in their class had already trickled out, making their way down to another classroom because for whatever reason the humans and the wolves got separated during sex ed. It seemed kind of dumb to Seokjin. Was it really that different?
They quieted down when the teacher walked in, hands raised to hush them up and get them to pay attention. Seokjin grinned at Yoongi, a boyish grin on his face as they faced forward and waited for the presentation to start.
It wasn't anything particularly interesting to start, considering most of the information was stuff Seokjin and Yoongi had been looking up since they were old enough to use the internet without parent supervision. Stupid stuff, like protection and STDs and all that. If he were a year younger Seokjin might've been embarrassed, but he was practically all grown up. He wasn't a pup anymore, he was sixteen.
Yoongi was a couple months younger than him, but he was already sixteen too. They were curious pups, and even curiouser teenagers, so it wasn't like they were going to wait until they were older to learn about the mysteries of their bodies.
It was when the slides about the different subgenders started to come up that Seokjin found himself sitting up straighter, lacing his fingers on his laps as the words knot and heat and rut popped up. Yoongi's ears were a little red, and Seokjin could only hope that his weren't.
Seokjin's brothers were all presented, and they were a mixture. His oldest brother was an omega, his middle brother was an alpha, and his last brother was a beta. His mother joked that Seokjin would be the wild card, considering she was an alpha and his father was a beta, so it wasn't even like he was sure what he would end up presenting as. Yoongi was sure to be an alpha, given that all his siblings had presented as such.
The idea of heat made him feel a little hot under the collar, as ironic as that was, and he selfishly wished that he wouldn't have to go through that. Being a beta would probably be the best option. Going into rut seemed equally as unpleasant as going into heat. Sure, it was a yearly thing, but it still seemed inconvenient.
"Betas can go into microheats or microruts depending on their preferred partner," the teacher droned on, pointing to a diagram of a beta male's reproductive organs. "The horomones will shift the more a person spends time with their partner, especially if they engage in sexual relations. It's not uncommon, but it sometimes takes years for the body to develop the things it needs to sync up to another person's rut or heat."
Well. Seokjin hadn't considered that.
They passed around a pamphlet detailing medication used to subdue ruts and heats, and the teacher further explained that heats and ruts increased fertility but pregnancy could still be achieved outside of them. Omegas had the highest fertility rate of all three subgenders, so they were warned about participating in heats without protection. The teacher said something about omega sperm being the most potent, and Seokjin felt a little sick at the vulgarity. There was some information about how the bodies of humans and wolves had evolved with heats and ruts to control pregnancy rates in rapidly advancing countries, and all sorts of things about the technology invented in tandem with them.
"Now onto our next slide," the teacher hummed, moving aside the figures with very detailed sexual organs on them. "It's time to talk about mates."
Seokjin blinked, sharing an awkward look with Yoongi. They had tried to do some research about mates a few months back, when they overheard their parents talking about it, but it was hard to continue when they kept running into sappy love novels and stuff like that. He supposed the whole mates schtick was the main reason why humans got their secondary school sexual education meeting in a separate classroom than the wolves.
"Generally, wolves will meet their mates during the ages of fifteen to thirty. It's different for everyone, but it is usually characterized by your wolf being protective and attracted to another wolf. Most research states that a wolf's mate will hold a particular scent, different than that wolf's usual scent, and that is usually a major indicator."
Seokjin paused. A particular scent that is different than the wolf's usual scent.
"If one person has presented and the other hasn't it's harder for the wolves to tell that they are mates, but that mostly has to do with immaturity. Your wolf grows as you do." The teacher passed out another pamphlet, and continued to speak once everyone had one. "Research states that alphas are better at identifying their mates early on, and betas sometimes struggle to find theirs, but there are also a lot a factors that need to be considered such as age, gender, etc. It's also possible for a wolf to identify their mate before they present, but the symptoms are usually less impactful and it often goes unnoticed until one of the wolves has presented."
Seokjin stared down at the pamphlet, the sound of the teacher droning on about the impacts of mating on one's health drowning out with how hard his heart was beating against his chest. There was a list of things that typically happened when a wolf first recognized their mate.
The scent. The protectiveness. A desire for physical affection. A desire to make your mate happy. A desire to have your mate nearby. An irrational fear of them disliking you.
Yoongi nudged Seokjin's calf with the side of his foot, and Seokjin met his frown with a queasy smile. I'm fine, he mouthed.
"Even rarer for a mating is the mating between a human and a wolf. The wolf counterpart will usually identify the mating bond on their own, but the human will rarely feel the effects of a bond until after the mating. Until a few decades ago, it was illegal for humans to be mated to wolves due to major prejudice and fear on both sides. There have been some cases of wolves tricking humans in positions of power to mate with them, since the human was unable to identify the bond until after the mating. Luckily, wolf and human pairings are more accepted nowadays and faking a bond is both illegal and majorly frowned upon, but the ratio of human-wolf and wolf-wolf matings is still at about one to twelve."
I'm fucked, Seokjin thought, dropping his head into his hands.
⟷
Seokjin licked the ice cream off his finger, trying to distract himself from the weight of his thoughts. Yoongi had given up on trying to get him to talk about it after a few days, saying that Seokjin could come talk to him whenever he needed it, and Seokjin hadn't forgotten. He appreciated that Yoongi was trying to help him, and he told him as much.
He just wasn't ready to talk about it.
"Hyung," Jeongguk laughed, stealing the cone from Seokjin's hands, "you're dripping everywhere."
Seokjin huffed, grabbing a napkin to clean off his hands as Jeongguk finished off the rest of his ice cream. "Oh, no, help yourself."
"Don't be stingy," Jeongguk laughed, climbing on Seokjin's bed and flopping back to stare up at the ceiling. Seokjin still had some glow in the dark stars glued up there from when he was a pup, and he had never been embarrassed about them until that moment.
Where the hell were Taehyung and Jimin? They had been on a snack run for twenty minutes already. Curse Yoongi for going to visit his cousins over the weekend and leaving Seokjin to deal with the kids.
"I'm taking your chips next time," Seokjin complained, grabbing his laptop and pulling up the movie that they had agreed to watch.
"No you won't," Jeongguk chirped, sitting up and grinning boldly. "Hyung loves me, I'm spoiled."
Seokjin sucked in a breath, hiding his surprise with a cough. Well, less of a cough and more choking, but Jeongguk didn't seem to notice. "S-Shut up, Jeongguk-ah."
Jeongguk smiled, grabbing one of Seokjin's pillows and cuddling it to his chest. "I love you too, hyung," he cooed, resting his chin on the edge of the pillow and patting the spot next to him.
Seokjin scowled, his cheeks heating up as he grabbed the laptop and climbed on the bed next to him. "Fine, then."
Taehyung and Jimin ran in before they could say anything else, and Taehyung rammed himself against Seokjin's side. Seokjin was doing his best to avoid getting Taehyung's buttery residue from the popcorn they were sharing on his laptop, but at least it drained out the booming of his thoughts as the kids laughed along to the movie.
⟷
Life continued like that. It was hard for Seokjin to bring it up to anyone considering he wasn't even sure if what he was thinking was the truth, and he didn't want to embarass himself in the event that he was overthinking. He found himself as close to Jeongguk as ever, and it was fine.
He was probably getting it wrong since neither of them had presented yet. Jeongguk was thirteen. Jeongguk was a human. Nothing made sense.
Whatever. It was fine.
Seokjin would be fine.
Year Four
⟷
Two weeks after his seventeenth birthday, Seokjin woke up with a strange burning sensation under his skin. It felt a little bit like he had been in a hot shower for too long, with his mind feeling murky and wrong, but he was coherent enough to stumble out into the living room and into his surprised father's arms before promptly passing out.
He woke up in his bed, his clock reading that three hours have passed, with a cool towel folded on his forehead and the rest of his body tucked in. He has a feeling that his father tucked him in after he fainted, and he would be embarrassed if he wasn't feeling so crappy.
He knew better than to try calling out for someone, instead grabbing his phone off his nightstand (where it was still charging from the night before) and sending a few question marks to his father.
To his surprise, it was his mother that walked in a few minutes later. He tried to sit up, but relaxed back into his cocoon when she held up her hand and came over to kneel by his bedside. It reminded him of when he was younger and his mom would tuck him in, maybe read him a story or two to get him to sleep. He craved that comfort, even if he wasn't sure why. "Mom?"
His mother smiled, brushing his hair away from his eyes and using the towel to gently pat his face. It didn't do much to cool him down, but the affection made the queasy feeling in his stomach lift a little. "You're presenting," she said simply, grabbing the water off his bedside table and urging him to drink. "It's rut. You're lucky, though, mine was much worse than this."
Seokjin stared at her in shock, the words sticking in his ears and not quite making it to his brain for him to process. He put down the water bottle before it spilled all over him. "Rut."
"You'll have to miss school today, unfortunately," she sighed, squeezing his shoulder. "I already called it in, and I've asked Yoongi-yah to prepare notes for you. Congrats, sweetheart."
"Better late than never?" Seokjin said sheepishly, burying his head into his pillow as his thoughts raced. An alpha. Yoongi hadn't presented yet, either, but he was a few months younger. He still had time.
"Exactly," his mother cooed, tickling under his chin. "It'll be uncomfortable for the first day, but once you're body realizes you don't have a mate nearby it'll settle down. If you're uncomfortable tomorrow morning we won't make you go to school."
Her words comforted him a little bit, but not by much. He remembered when his older brother presented as an omega and locked himself in his room for an entire week. He had a hard heat, apparently. Seokjin never had the guts to ask, and his brother went on with life afterwards like nothing happened. That was unpleasant for everyone involved. "Yeah. Okay, mom, thanks."
She smiled, brushing her fingers through his hair. "This is more of a pre-rut until you're older, so it shouldn't be too bad. Your brother's ruts were rather short for the first few years, as were mine. I'm hoping you'll be as lucky."
Seokjin nodded, staring at a poster on his wall. It was a pretty large galaxy poster, supposedly showing the stars that were in the sky when he was born. It was something his dad gave him a few birthdays ago, and he liked to look at it whenever he felt stressed out or uncomfortable. "...and when I find my mate?"
He didn't mean to say it, not really, but judging by the look on his mother's face she was waiting for him to ask. "Is this about Jeongguk?"
Seokjin balked, his gaze tearing away from the poster to meet his mother's non judgemental smile. "What?"
"I'm guessing you know by now," she teased, continuing to pet him even as he hid his face in his hands and groaned. "The first day we met him you mentioned his scent, and I've been watching for clues along the years. I'll be honest, I liked Jeongguk, so a part of me was hoping he was your mate."
Seokjin dropped his hands from his face, his brows furrowing as his mouth turned uncomfortably. "I figured it out last year," he admitted, shoving his hands under the blanket and playing with his fingers to try and calm himself down. "It's weird. He's three years younger than I am. Everything about the situation scares me."
"I know," his mother sighed, continuing to pet him. "It's okay to be scared, Jinnie. It's...unusual, honestly, but if you two are really mates then no one can stop you."
Seokjin frowned, digging his nails into his stomach. He felt feverish, and he didn't want to talk anymore. "Okay."
His mother smiled at him, tilting her head and leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead. "To answer your question from before, your rut won't mature until you actually mate with someone. Just finding your mate isn't enough to trigger a full rut, so you'll be fine for a while."
His mother was thinking about Jeongguk and Seokjin actually getting together, Seokjin knew that, and all he could do was ignore the pounding in his head.
"That's...good to know."
His mother smiled, ruffling his hair before standing up. "I know you're confused, Jinnie, but it'll make sense one day. Just relax for now, okay?"
Seokjin smiled. He was in a bad mood, but he knew his mom meant well and wanted the best for him. He couldn't be upset at her for that. "Alright. Thanks, mom."
⟷
The rest of the group were obsessed with Seokjin's presentation, and they bombarded him with questions when he felt well enough to go back to school. The second day was better, as his mom said it would be, but it was still hard for him to get out of bed and move around without feeling breathless within minutes, so he stayed home again. The third day he managed to get up and go to school without feeling like he was going to pass out, and he was just ready to turn back to normalcy.
As soon as Taehyung saw him he yelled and barrelled towards him, almost knocking Seokjin down as he hugged him. Jimin followed suit while Yoongi and Jeongguk stayed back, laughing to themselves when Taehyung and Jimin started asking all sorts of inappropriate things.
Seokjin managed to shove them off him when he heard the word knot, his face turning a bright red as he ran ahead to avoid their grabby hands and nosy mouths. Yoongi yelled out from behind him while the youngest three laughed out, trying to catch up to him.
Yoongi caught up to him by the school gates, the other three forced to give up so they could get to school on time, and he had a grin on his face as he approached. "So. An alpha?"
Seokjin frowned, avoiding the questioning glances from other wolves as they passed by. The humans wouldn't know until word got around, but he was certain that the other wolves would be able to smell it on him. It felt a little like an invasion of privacy, but there was no such thing when it came to wolf pups. "An alpha," he mumbled, rubbing the side of his neck. His skin was still sensitive from his rut, and the school uniform felt itchy. "My mom and dad are happy, at least."
"They would've been happy no matter what you presented as," Yoongi hummed, frowning as he slipped his hands into his coat. "At least you finally did."
"You'll present soon enough," Seokjin offered, knowing that Yoongi was frustrated by his late presentation. Their parents told him not to worry about it, since his mother didn't present until her nineteenth birthday and his father presented when he was seventeen, but Yoongi was impatient. "It's nothing special, anyways."
Yoongi made a face, not quite believing him, but Seokjin supposed he would learn how lame presenting was once he had to go through it himself. "Whatever you say. How're you holding up?"
"Well enough," Seokjin sighed, jerking his head towards the school to signal Yoongi to follow him in. It was cold outside, and that mixing with the awful heat under his skin was sure to get him sick. "My mom said it'd get worse once I mate with someone, so that's going to be awful."
Yoongi bit his cheek, thinking. "I suppose that's a small mercy. It'd suck if we had to deal with full blown ruts and heats now. Especially with school."
Seokjin thought about Jeongguk, and he wished he hadn't. "...Yeah. Small mercies."
⟷
He found himself entertaining Jeongguk in his room as he tried to do his math homework, and how the kid ended up on his bed Seokjin had no idea. He was there now, though, and Seokjin had a feeling that his mom had to do with that.
"Hyung," Jeongguk whined, tossing a ball up and down to keep himself occupied while Seokjin worked, "I want to play."
"You are playing," Seokjin deadpanned, cursing under his breath as he tried to understand the problem he was on. He was only two days off his rut, but he felt just as irritable with his brain fog. His mom said it was normal, but he still felt like crap.
"But I want to hear about your rut," Jeongguk said, making Seokjin glare at him. He sounded way too nonchalant for Seokjin's comfort.
"I'm not going to talk to you about that, Jeongguk, you're gross," he hissed, turning in his desk chair so Jeongguk could look at his back. "Stop asking."
Jeongguk audibly huffed, and Seokjin could heard him kicking his feet. "You talked to Yoongi hyung about it!"
Seokjin frowned, working out his problems with a little more frustration than usual. "No, I didn't. He asked me how I felt and I told him I was fine. That was it."
The days he went to school since he presented had been annoying, at best. A bunch of his friends kept asking questions and congratulating him and asking personal questions that Seokjin didn't want to answer. Yoongi managed to shoo some of them away, but they were in different homerooms, so that help only went so far. Even his teacher congratulated him when he walked in, having heard of it from the office, so he had to deal with the fact that everyone in his class undoubtedly knew about his private business.
People said that presenting was normal and all that, but that didn’t make it any less mortifying.
Seokjin heard shuffling behind him, but he didn't want to give Jeongguk and his tantrum the luxury of his attention. "Hyung! C'mon," he whined. He was being a brat, and Seokjin had half a mind to tell him as much. "Is it true you pop a knot?"
Seokjin slammed his pencil down, embarrassment flushing through his system as he jerked his head back. "Jeongguk! Stop asking me and your own business!" he shouted.
Jeongguk looked shocked, staring at Seokjin with big eyes and parted lips, and Seokjin instantly felt regret flood through him. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Jeongguk was sliding off his bed and bolting out of his room before Seokjin could muster up the courage to do so.
He was left alone in his room, staring at the spot where Jeongguk had once been. He had never yelled at Jeongguk before. He never yelled at any of them, actually, but Yoongi teased him over having a bias with Jeongguk and it was true even if Seokjin wouldn't admit it. Sure, they joked around and raised their voices, but he had never gotten seriously mad with any of them.
Seokjin wasn't even mad at Jeongguk. He was frustrated and uncomfortable, sure, but he wasn't mad at him.
His father peeked in a few seconds into Seokjin shoving his comforter and pillows around on his bed. "Everything alright in here?"
Seokjin's immediate thought was to say something snarky, but he somehow managed to calm down before he said something he would really regret. "Yeah," he grumbled, dropping down onto his bed and rubbing at his brow. He didn't really want to talk to his dad, but judging by the expression on his face Seokjin's opinion was irrelevant.
His father hummed, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes swept over the room. He was analyzing the situation, Seokjin guessed, and that made him feel more guilty. "Want to explain to me why Jeongguk just ran out of here?"
"I yelled at him," Seokjin said honestly, taking a seat on the edge of his bed and placing a pillow on his lap so he had something to look at. There was no point in lying, anyways, since he had his door open and Seokjin had yelled loud enough for the rest of the household to hear it. "He was asking me all these questions and I snapped."
His father sighed, tipping his head back until it knocked gently against the doorframe. "You still shouldn't have yelled at him. He's a curious kid, especially when it comes to you."
Seokjin frowned, clenching his jaw as that familiar discomfort blazed in his lower belly. "I don't want to talk about that right now."
"It's not something you can ignore," his father said. There was no malice in his tone, and Seokjin knew he was right, but he still didn't want to hear it. "Seokjin-ah."
"I know," Seokjin sighed, rubbing at his eyes with his palm. "I know, but that's not even what this is about."
His father sighed. "I know it's hard for you, Jin-ah. It'll all come together when it's right, though. In the meantime, you should apologize to Jeongguk. He looked really upset."
"Yeah," Seokjin sighed, plucking a stray feather that was poking out of his pillow. "I'll talk to him soon. Sorry."
⟷
Soon didn't come until a week and a half after the incident, when Seokjin was invited over to Jimin's house with the others. Jeongguk ignored Seokjin whenever they were together, which wasn't often since Seokjin yelled at him. They really only saw each other before and after school, and when the weekend rolled around Jeongguk had a family thing so he couldn't hang out with them, anyways.
Dinner went by as it usually did when they were all together, and Seokjin caught Jeongguk laughing at one of his jokes. It made him feel better, even if he still needed to work up the courage to properly apologize.
They eventually moved to Jimin's room to play with his video games, and Seokjin was shocked when Jeongguk chose to plop down next to him. Yoongi looked equally as surprised-- Seokjin messaged Yoongi that day to complain to him about what had happened-- but flashed Seokjin a thumbs up and went to call dibs on the better controller.
Seokjin tried to play it off, clearing his throat and offering the controller he had to Jeongguk. It was a cheap way to make him happy, Seokjin had to admit, but he was a little desperate.
Jeongguk looked surprised, but he beamed and accepted the controller with a rushed thanks, quickly choosing his favorite character while the other boys were still arguing over the last controller. Seokjin smiled, ruffling Jeongguk's hair before he could think better of it. Jeongguk glanced up at him, smiling back and relaxing against Seokjin's side.
They remained like that through the first game, until Jimin got up to get drinks and Jeongguk offered to do it himself. Seokjin had taken over the controller while he was gone until Yoongi gave him a look, prompting him to get up under the guise of helping Jeongguk carry everything back. The others didn't seem to notice, or care, and Taehyung quickly grabbed the free controller before Seokjin was even standing.
Seokjin found Jeongguk grabbing water bottles and filling up cups with the pitcher of lemonade Jimin's mother prepared for them. His bottom lip was jutted out as he looked between the cups and the water bottles, and Seokjin snorted. That made Jeongguk look over, his cheeks flushing once he realized Seokjin was watching him. "Uh. Hyung."
"Let me help you," Seokjin said, smiling to himself as he walked over and grabbed the cups so Jeongguk could hold onto the water bottles.
"Thanks," Jeongguk breathed, pressing the bottles to his chest and smiling. "I didn't want to drop anything."
"It's alright," Seokjin hummed, turning to head back to Jimin's room. He paused midstep, and Jeongguk nearly crashed into him. "Wait, shit, hold on."
Jeongguk jerked back, trying not to trip and drop all the bottles on the ground. "Hyung?"
"I need to apologize to you," Seokjin said, rushing himself before he could come up with an excuse to stay quiet. Jeongguk stared at him like a deer in headlights, and Seokjin frowned. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. So I'm sorry."
Jeongguk opened his mouth and closed it, looking down at the bottles in his hands before glancing back up at Seokjin. "It's-- hyung, it's fine," he stuttered, his cheeks gaining a bit more color. "I was being mean, I think. I should be saying sorry."
"We both were being mean," Seokjin sighed, wrinkling his nose to try and lock down his expression. "Let's just-- truce?"
Jeongguk smiled shyly, rolling the bottles against his chest. "I already forgave you, hyung," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "To be honest, I was just embarrassed."
Seokjin blinked, tilting his head in surprise. "Oh. You did?"
"Yeah," Jeongguk said, a grin stretching out over his lips. "Should we, um, should we go back?"
"Yeah, yeah, let's go," Seokjin said, incredulous. He laughed from the surprise, walking backwards for a few steps before turning around and heading towards Jimin's room. "I lost our controller, though, sorry."
Jeongguk whined, elbowing Seokjin's arm as the previous conversation melted away into nothing. "Hyung! Tae hyung and Jimin hyung hog them!"
"You've already played a ton, just wait your turn."
"They aren't going to let me play for the rest of the night!"
“Will you two be quiet and let us play?”
⟷
Taehyung presented as an omega the fall before Seokjin's eighteenth birthday, and his parents threw an entire party because of it. Taehyung didn't clam up like Seokjin did, and he embraced his subgender as well as anyone could. Seokjin heard from the grapevine that some kids had asked him inappropriate questions about his heat and Taehyung had answered so thoroughly that they got uncomfortable and never bothered him about it again. Seokjin was rather proud of him, to be honest.
Two weeks later, though, Jimin threw everyone for a loop and presented as an alpha. To make it even more complicated, Seokjin was dragged along with Taehyung and the others to go visit Jimin since by the time he was feeling good enough to go out it was Saturday.
Seokjin wasn't really expecting for Taehyung to take one look at Jimin and yell that Jimin was his mate, but he couldn't say he was surprised. They' were forced to leave when Taehyung and Jimin started jumping around together, grabbing Jimin's father's attention and triggering a very serious family meeting, and Seokjin found himself hanging out at the convenience store with Yoongi and Jeongguk while they waited for any news.
It was a little awkward for Seokjin, if he was being honest with himself, because he couldn't stop looking at Jeongguk. He was old enough to admit that he was jealous, but what was he supposed to do about it? Nothing, that was what.
Jeongguk was human. When he presented, there would be no big reveal. He'd present and that would be the end of it. Seokjin didn't want to think about it.
Taehyung updated them with a text an hour later, and it was nothing but the good stuff. They were given a few new restrictions, like how they couldn’t hang out alone together without adult supervision and all that, but it was fine. Seokjin was happy for them.
He was a little sad for himself, though.
Year Five
⟷
Seokjin yawned, rubbing at his eyes obnoxiously as he waited for the rest of the pack to wake up. Jeongguk was half asleep next to him, clinging onto his arm like his life depended on it, and Seokjin didn't blame him. It was freezing out and they were both hungry. He would start cooking, but Jimin's mother was very particular about what they ate for breakfast and he had given up on trying to help years ago.
A big part of him wanted to at least find a banana or something for Jeongguk to nibble on while they waited, though.
They were seated by the campfire (Seokjin had started it up again once they woke up since he couldn't stand being outside if there was going to be no fire) and sharing one of the bigger camping chairs so they could benefit off of one another's body heat. Seokjin could hear shuffling around them, so he knew that it wouldn't be too long before the pack started coming out and getting ready for the day.
He whispered the information to Jeongguk, who couldn't hear as well as Seokjin due to being half asleep and being a human, and Jeongguk merely mumbled an affirmation that he understood before planting his face against Seokjin's arm and succumbing to his sleepiness.
Seokjin sighed, tilting his head back to stare at the moon that was still visible in the sky.
He didn't look back down until Taehyung came around, squeezing Seokjin's arm with a happy smile before skipping over to the tent Jimin was sharing with his sister. Seokjin watched as Taehyung stuck his head in, no doubt trying to get Jimin to wake up before the majority of the pack did so they could sneak in some kisses. It was cute, if not a little revolting.
Soon enough, the pack filtered out of the tents, taking turns heading over to the bathrooms or starting up breakfast with Jimin's mother leading the whole thing. It was kind of funny, seeing such a small woman order everyone around, but Seokjin was used to it. That's how it always was.
He woke Jeongguk up once the first scent of edible food hit the area, gently slipping his hands out from his jacket pockets to nudge Jeongguk's shoulder until he saw two big brown eyes staring up at him with the haze of sleep still present. "Breakfast is ready," Seokjin whispered, slowly leaning forward until he had enough strength to sit up.
"Mhm," Jeongguk murmured, rubbing at his eyes as he followed Seokjin's lead and stood up as well.
Two large plates of food and one bathroom trip later, Jeongguk was running around the campsite with Jimin hot on his heels, Taehyung's laughter following them while Seokjin and Yoongi worked on homework together by the riverbed. It was relaxing, even though Seokjin found himself getting distracted by their friends every now and then.
They didn't last for long, and by the time lunch was ready to be served Seokjin was pooped from running around and shifting and having a content to see who could catch the most fish in the lake.
Jeongguk won, even though the rest of them had the advantage of their canines and claws, and it would be an understatement to say that they were all a little bitter about it. Their families, on the other hand, thought it was hilarious. Jeongguk looked so proud that Seokjin couldn't even stay mad at him for long.
It was a fun day regardless, and by the end of it Seokjin couldn't help but think about how much he was going to miss their pack outings when he went off to college.
⟷
A few weeks into their senior year, Yoongi presented as an omega. It was a surprise to everyone, considering both of his parents and his brother were alphas, but he wasn't upset by it. Instead, he seemed relieved that he presented at all.
It was kind of funny, but Taehyung was having a field day trying to give Yoongi 'omega advice' that Yoongi didn't want to hear at all. Seokjin thought it was cute, and he knew that Yoongi did too, even if he wouldn't say so.
Their parents don't bother putting restrictions on Yoongi going over to Seokjin's place since Seokjin's parents knew Seokjin wouldn't do anything considering Jeongguk and Yoongi's parents trusted them. Seokjin had to admit that Yoongi smelled nice, but he thought the same thing about Taehyung and just about every other omega he ran into. It wasn't really an attraction thing, his wolf just liked the scent of omegas.
Well, his wolf liked the scent of Jeongguk the most, but Seokjin hated thinking about that.
"What're you going to do when Jeongguk presents?" Yoongi asked, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth. He missed, and Seokjin would've made fun of him but he was still stuck on the question.
They were in Yoongi's room, and they had already given up on studying a half hour ago. There was some documentary on the television that they were supposed to watch, but Seokjin hadn't been paying attention to it and he was sure Yoongi hadn't, either.
"Uh...nothing?" It's a lame answer, but what else was he supposed to say? Why was Yoongi asking him?
Yoongi levelled him with a look, grabbing the thrown popcorn off his desk and plopping it into his mouth. "I'm your best friend. I'm not dumb."
Seokjin frowned, furrowing his brows and kicking his feet off the side of Yoongi's bed. He held himself up with his elbows, tilting his head as he tried to read Yoongi's expression. "Isn't that the same thing?"
Yoongi faked a laugh, and Seokjin pouted. They were quiet for a few seconds until Yoongi sighed, placing the bowl of popcorn on his desk before facing Seokjin again. "You know I know, right?"
Seokjin's lips parted, curiosity buzzing at the back of his mind as he processed Yoongi's questions. There were a lot of things they could be talking about, and Seokjin didn't want to jump to conclusions and get himself in trouble. "Know what?"
"Jeongguk," Yoongi said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "To be honest, I'm surprised Taehyung-ah doesn't know, but he's been too caught up with Jimin to pay attention."
Seokjin sucked in a breath, curling his fingers in the blankets. Was he that obvious? He didn't-- he hadn't done anything, had he? The relationship he had with Jeongguk was nothing platonic, and he never pushed the envelope. That was a promise he had made to himself years ago, and he hadn't strayed from that promise.
Yoongi hummed, kneading his hands against his thighs. The smile on his face was gentle, but Seokjin could see the struggle behind it. "It's okay, Jin. You didn't do anything weird, I just see the way you look at him. And you, uh, take care of him. It's different from how you take care of the rest of us."
Seokjin thought he was going to be sick. His palms were sweating, and he sat up in fear of slipping and falling back. "He's my mate," he whispered.
Somehow, saying it out loud had relief coursing through Seokjin's mind. Maybe it was because he has it said it in a while, or maybe it was because he was finally telling Yoongi.
Yoongi, on the other hand, looked shocked. "Mate?" he repeated, gripping the armrests of his chair so hard Seokjin swore his knuckles looked like they were going to turn white. "Seokjin, what the fuck? And you never told me?"
Seokjin groaned, his head lolling back. "It wasn't exactly something I wanted people to know?"
"Who else knows?" Yoongi sounded incredulous, as if Seokjin was telling an elaborate lie, but there was a hint of amazement in there that told Seokjin that Yoongi believed him.
"My parents. That's it. I didn't want anyone else to know," Seokjin admitted. "It's--he's human. It's different for him. I don't want him to feel burdened."
His head felt foggy, like it always did when he started talking about Jeongguk like that, but he needed to talk about it. He had kept his feelings hidden for so long and he knew it wasn't healthy.
Yoongi was silent for a few moments, and Seokjin didn't realize he was moving until the bed dipped next to him. The hand on his shoulder was a bit of a surprise, but he craved the affection. He didn't have the heart, or the desire, to push Yoongi away. "Whatever you decide to do, I'll help you out," Yoongi sighed. "Just...don't make yourself unhappy."
Seokjin frowned. It wasn't so much that he was making himself unhappy. He had Jeongguk's best interests in mind, and that was enough to make him happy. That was good enough for him.
It would have to be.
"Alright, Yoongi-yah."
⟷
They're out bowling when Jeongguk goes into heat for the first time. It was awful, and all Seokjin could do was stare as Taehyung and Yoongi patiently guided him outside to take him home in Yoongi's car. Jimin and Seokjin were left to clean up to area, and neither of them said anything until Seokjin had to drive Jimin home. A selfish part of Seokjin was glad that they took two cars, since he wasn't sure what he would do with the scent of Jeongguk in heat stuck in his car.
He wasn't turned on or anything, thank the moon, but he was just. Worried.
Jimin seemed to notice about half way home, after Seokjin asked for the fifth time if anyone had texted them about Jeongguk. "Hyung. What's up?"
Seokjin wanted to say that he was worried sick, that he was lucky he had the attention span to be driving, but he didn't want to make Jimin worry about him, too. "I'm fine. I just want to make sure Jeongguk got home alright."
Jimin sighed, sweeping his fingers through his hair and he picked up his phone to text someone. Seokjin tightened his grip on the steering wheel, doing his best to focus on the road ahead of them. It's nearly empty, but it's nighttime, and he wouldn't put Jimin in danger because he was being irrational.
They didn't get a reply for five minutes, and it was a simple affirmative that Jeongguk was safe at home with his family. Seokjin visibly deflated, and Jimin tilted his head. There was a question there, but Jimin didn't ask it until Seokjin pulled up in front of his house.
"Hyung?"
Seokjin loosened his grip on the steering wheel, humming for Jimin to go on while he stared ahead. Jeongguk wasn't too far from him, and that made him feel worse.
"Are you okay? Like, really okay?"
Seokjin deflated into his seat, dropping his hands down to his lap. "I'm fine, Jimin-ah. It just caught me off guard."
Jimin opened his mouth to say something, but shut it a millisecond later, as if he realized it would be better not to say it. He sighed, grabbing his wallet and keys out of the cupholder and playing with them in his lap. "If you say so, hyung."
"Don't worry about me," Seokjin scolded, reaching over to ruffle Jimin's hair. "I'm just stressed out from school, so this freaked me out a little. I'll feel better once I'm home."
Jimin smiled at him gently. "Jeonggukkie's fine, hyung. There's nothing to worry about."
"I know," Seokjin said, truthfully. "I'm okay, Jimin-ah. Go inside. I'm sure Taehyung-ah will want to see you before he goes home."
Jimin got a soft look in his eyes as he nodded, double checking that he had everything before slipping out of the car with a sweet thank you for the ride home. He faltered before shutting the car door, as if he wanted to say something else, but he waved and made his way inside without another word, leaving Seokjin to his thoughts and the silence of his surroundings.
⟷
If Seokjin were stronger, nothing would have changed.
Maybe it was cruel, but he had to think of himself too. Right? He wanted Jeongguk to be happy, but the more he thought about it the more he realized that the closer he got to Jeongguk, the more it hurt. Jeongguk was young and fiercely loyal, and Seokjin didn't want to take advantage of that. He was an adult. Jeongguk was still a child.
He considered, once, bringing it up to Jeongguk, but that was impossible. Maybe one day they could talk about it, when Jeongguk was older and an adult, but not now. It made Seokjin feel sick just thinking about it.
It was hard to control his wolf, but he didn't want to put that burden on Jeongguk. Jeongguk and him weren't like Taehyung and Jimin. They didn't get to grow up together and be teens together and be a sappy high school couple. Seokjin would be going off to college and Jeongguk would still be in high school.
People on the internet threw around words like grooming and conditioning and it made Seokjin feel guilty and gross, even though he knew he wasn't doing any of that. He could keep his secret for a little while longer. The fates might have decided that Jeongguk was his mate, but Seokjin wasn't going to let that ruin his morals.
Maybe he was strong since he chose to suffer in silence, but maybe that made him weak, too.
Seokjin hid behind the guise that he had to study and spend more time at school since it was his senior year, and it worked for the most part. Yoongi was doing the same, as were the majority of students their age, so it wasn't like it was out of the ordinary. His parents expected him to work hard to prepare for college, and he didn't want to disappoint them. It helped that it got him away from Jeongguk most days, too.
Jeongguk didn't seem suspicious since he knew Seokjin had a lot to do, but Seokjin knew that he was upset when they went from seeing each other nearly every day to only seeing each other sometimes not even once a week. It upset him, too, but it was fine.
A part of him said that he was preparing himself for the inevitable. When it came time for him to leave, he wouldn't be able to see anyone for long amounts of time. He would try to come to their monthly pack outings, but he knew better. His brothers sometimes didn't make it, anymore, but no one blamed them.
They were growing up, his mother said. Maybe one day everything would return back to the way it was, but no one was holding their breath.
⟷
Seokjin graduated with pride, and even though he wasn't at the top of his class he was happy. He made it into a good university and he made his parents proud, and that was enough for him. Yoongi did well, too, and they weren’t going to the same university but their campuses were only twenty minutes away from each other by subway. They made a pact to go to lunch or dinner together at least once a week, and that was enough to comfort Seokjin about moving into the city without knowing anyone else there.
Their parents threw a graduation party at the campgrounds during their monthly trip during the full moon, and it was bittersweet. On one hand, Seokjin felt ecstatic that he had so many people in his life that genuinely cared about his well being and were proud of him, and on the other hand he was sad that he had to leave them.
His mother assured them that he wasn't leaving them, since he could come back at any time, but it was still a lot to handle.
Yoongi grinned, knocking their sodas together as his father toasted to them, and Seokjin laughed along. They both tipped back their drinks, gulping the soda down even as it burned their throats.
Taehyung came running over, tackling Seokjin in a hug and joining in on the laughter even as Seokjin's soda spilled on their shirts. Seokjin scolded him, but it was as halfhearted as ever.
"I can't believe you're leaving me, hyung," Taehyung whined, half sitting on Seokjin's lap and half sitting on the camping chair.
"I'm not leaving you, dork," Seokjin snorted, ruffling his hair. "You text me more than anyone, I'll always be there for you."
"Kim Seokjin, when did you get so sappy?" Yoongi teased, elbowing him with a cheesy grin.
Seokjin laughed, dropping his arm over Taehyung's shoulders. "I'm happy, Yoongi-yah."
"Jeonggukkie isn't," Taehyung sang. There was something mischievous in his smile, and Seokjin didn't like it. "He's so cute, he's brooding."
Seokjin's smile twitched. "Why?"
"He doesn't want you two to go," Taehyung said, lowering his voice. There was kind of no point, since Jeongguk was nowhere in sight, but... "He hasn't said anything about it, but it's kind of obvious, I think."
Seokjin faltered. His wolf wanted to go and comfort him, but Seokjin wasn't sure if he should.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while," Yoongi said, glancing at Seokjin questioningly. "Hyung, you should go look for him."
Seokjin pursed his lips, giving Yoongi a look, but Yoongi acted like he didn't notice. Taehyung, on the other hand, perked up, poking Seokjin's chest with purpose. "Hyung! You should!"
"I don't want to make him more upset," Seokjin stammered out, clearing his throat when he saw Yoongi laughing at him behind his soda.
"You couldn't make him upset," Taehyung scoffed, pinching Seokjin's cheek. "Hyung, please?"
Seokjin's mouth twitched uncomfortably, until he took one look at Taehyung's face and realized he didn't have a choice. Taehyung was always biased with Jeongguk, and Seokjin couldn't say he blamed him. "Fine, fine, I'll go," he sighed, swatting Taehyung away from him so he could get off the chair without knocking him down.
Taehyung laughed, taking over Seokjin's spot and starting a conversation with Yoongi so Seokjin didn't have a reason to linger. Seokjin huffed, stopping by his parents to let them know of his mission so they wouldn't wonder where he went.
His mother smiled and squeezed his shoulder, mouthing a little good luck, while his father winked playfully. Neither one made him feel better about the situation.
It was a little embarrassing, but he found himself sniffing the air until he caught a whiff of Jeongguk's scent. Jimin's was there, too, and Seokjin followed the trails until he found himself by the trees surrounding lake.
He could hear them laughing, and he smiled to himself. He would be lying if he said hearing Jeongguk's laugh didn't make him happy.
He broke from the tree line, resting a hand on one of the tree trunks and chewing on his bottom lip once he spotted them. They had their backs turned to him, and Seokjin realized they were skipping rocks while talking. Seokjin couldn't quite hear them-- that was more out of respect, since Seokjin would probably be able to hear them if he tried.
Jimin glanced over his shoulder when Seokjin stepped on a branch, making his presence known to those who were listening, and beamed once he realized who was there. "Hyung!"
Jeongguk jumped, surprised, and nearly dropped the rock in his hand when he turned around to see Seokjin there. He didn't look too upset, which made Seokjin feel relieved, but Seokjin figured messing around with Jimin probably brought up his spirits.
"Hey," Seokjin hummed, making his way over after shoving his hands in his pockets. "What're you two doing?"
"Nothing," Jeongguk mumbled, looking at the rock in his hands before turning back around and tossing it. It made it a decent length, but Jeongguk pouted when it sank beneath the surface. "We were going to go back soon."
Jimin grinned, patting Jeongguk's shoulder as he started to head towards the forest. "I'll head back first. See you two later."
Jeongguk stared after him, as did Seokjin, until Jimin disappeared into the trees. "Did Jimin hyung just ditch us?"
"I think so," Seokjin hummed, laughing under his breath as he took a seat a few feet away from the shore. "Why're you all the way out here?"
Jeongguk shrugged, licking his lips as he looked for another suitable rock. Seokjin found one first, offering it with a gentle smile. Jeongguk received it with a grin, turning back towards the lake to toss it. Seokjin clapped when it made it farther than the previous one, and Jeongguk tipped his head back with a proud laugh.
Seokjin started to look for another rock, but stopped when Jeongguk chose to sit next to him instead.
They were quiet for a few minutes, soaking in the calm atmosphere and the scent of the water. Jeongguk broke the silence with a sigh, leaning his head against Seokjin's shoulder. "Hyung."
Seokjin looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Yeah?"
"I'm going to miss you."
Seokjin rested his cheek against Jeongguk's hair. It was hard to ignore Jeongguk's scent when he was this close, and all it did was make Seokjin feel at peace. The candied honey scent was stronger than before Jeongguk had presented, and his wolf whined with longing.
"I'm going to miss you, too."
⟷