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Jimin frowned when he got out of the bathroom and Jungkook wasn’t home; he had let everyone go before him as he waited for their youngest to arrive but there was still no sign of him being back. Jimin sighed as he checked his phone yet again but there were no messages to let him know Jungkook was at least alive.“I talked to him before we left.” Yoongi commented, noticing Jimin’s distress. “He told me to not wait up for him.”“Why didn’t he tell me anything?” Jimin muttered, eyes fixed on Jungkook’s contact picture.Yoongi shrugged. “You know him better than anyone else, Jimin. There’s really nothing new in him staying late in the practice room.”“I know.” The younger sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. “I just wish he would come home and rest.”“He’ll be here soon.” Yoongi assured. “Don’t worry too much.” He said before leaving to his room.Soon turned out to be three hours later and, since Jimin couldn’t sleep, he was up to greet a stumbling Jungkook when he opened the front door to their dorm.“Are you alright?” Jimin asked when Jungkook had to lean against the door to lock it.The maknae turned to him quickly and almost lost his balance as he did so, clearly surprised to find him there. Jimin squinted as he took notice of his trembling hands and droopy eyes, worry spiking up again.“Yeah.” Jungkook croaked out. “Just tired.”Jimin watched as Jungkook avoided his eyes and locked himself in the bathroom. He was relieved the younger was finally home but his brain wouldn’t let him relax just yet; there was something about Jungkook’s behavior hammering on the back of his head but he couldn’t put his finger on it.Still, he went to their room and lied down on his bed as he waited. It wasn’t long before he heard the door opening and saw a silhouette slipping inside, unconsciously shifting in place to give Jungkook more space to accommodate himself.“Have you eaten?” Jimin whispered against Jungkook’s skin when the younger pulled him to his chest.“Let’s just sleep.” Jungkook answered with a tone of finality and Jimin sighed, knowing his boyfriend was too stubborn and wouldn’t let this conversation go anywhere no matter how hard he tried.And even if he did want to worry, exhaustion soon got a hold of him and Jimin found himself asleep before he could count to ten, the warmth of Jungkook’s arms and his sweet scent enough to clear his head. Jimin had to practically hold Jungkook down so he would have breakfast the next morning and even then, the younger barely ate half of what was on his plate. He knew Jungkook was stressed with the comeback getting closer each day – they all were – but he had never seen him acting like that and it made his heart hurt that he didn’t know what to do.Days dragged on filled with dance practices and studio sessions to get everything perfect for their fans. Jungkook’s behavior only got worse and he started actively avoiding Jimin, giving out barely believable excuses that made the older idol ache deep in his chest. Jimin had no idea what he had done to trigger that kind of treatment and it hurt him in unimaginable ways to be ignored by his own boyfriend when they spent almost all hours of the day together.It took almost two months for Jimin to find out what was really going on.The practice room was almost too hot to bear and it was noticeable how every member was suffering from the heat and exhaustion after hours of dancing. Jimin himself was clinging to his water bottle as if it were a life support and the wall he was leaning against was just as comfortable as his bed in that moment.He closed his eyes for two seconds before the room exploded in noise and startled him. Despite his entire body complaining, Jimin was the first to get up from here he was slumped against and quickly made his way to where Jungkook had fallen and knocked over a chair.Jimin kneeled down beside the maknae, who had his eyes closed and was letting out shaky puffs of air through his mouth.“Jungkookie?” Jimin called, suddenly very much awake. The other members surrounded them, all sharing the same concerned expression on their faces, but Jimin didn’t see anyone else but the boy lying down in front of him.“I’m okay.” Jungkook mumbled and opened his eyes, though they were slightly out of focus. He sat up but Jimin had to hold him still because he seemed to lose his balance doing so.“Have you eaten?” Jimin asked, well aware of how Jungkook had been skipping meals and all too familiar with the things he was experiencing.“I had breakfast.” The maknae answered, pressing the heel of his hand to his eye, probably trying to get rid of a headache.“No, you didn’t. You only stood there waiting for us.” Taehyung said as he offered Jungkook a bottle of water.“Yeah, I did!” He argued, eyes widening as if that would help him prove his point. “We were talking about the new album, remember? Yoongi-hyung said he was thinking about going over some of the songs again.”“Jungkook.” Yoongi said with a stern look on his face. “That was yesterday.”The room was quiet for a moment and Jungkook looked down at his lap, completely at a loss of what to do because he was sure he had eaten that morning. But then again, he wasn’t being exactly healthy or stable with his eating habits recently so he might as well have skipped that one too.Jimin sighed heavily when no one else talked again. “I’m taking you to the dorm and you’re going to eat.” He said, looking at their choreographer for permission and receiving a worried nod from him.“No, I’m on a diet.” Jungkook tried to argue but he was too weak to even bat Jimin’s hand away.“Starving yourself is not a diet, Jungkook.” Jimin scolded as he raised the younger boy to his feet.“You’re one to talk.” The maknae retorted and immediately regretted it when his hyung froze. He was about to apologize when Jimin sighed and started walking towards the door, one arm around Jungkook’s waist to hold him up.The five remaining members could only watch in concern before they were called to resume rehearsal yet again. “What triggered this?” Jimin asked, frowning as he watched Jungkook’s eyelids drop and the effort he was making just to raise the chopsticks to his lips.“Comeback’s close.” Jungkook mumbled still feeling very much vexed that he was being forced to eat.“You had never done this, though.” Jimin tried to keep his voice calm but inside his chest was a turmoil of feelings begging to come out.“Wanted to lose weight.” Jungkook shrugged and Jimin sighed as he moved to brush hair away from the younger’s eyes.“You don’t have to.” The older argued but Jungkook didn’t seem to listen. “Tell me truth, Jungkookie.” Jimin pleaded and something in his voice made the younger finally look up at him.“It doesn’t matter.” Jungkook muttered after a beat and went back to the bowl of noodles in front of him.“It matters to me.” Jimin’s voice broke at the end of his sentence and Jungkook immediately raised his eyes to search his face, worry evident in the way his forehead creased. Of course, even when he wasn’t well himself, Jimin was always put first.“Don’t cry.” Jungkook lifted his hand to thumb at an unshed tear in the corner of Jimin’s eye.“I’m worried about you.” Jimin whispered, fighting to keep himself under control.“But I’m fine.” Jungkook said, frowning at his meal. Sure, he wasn’t at his best but he was certain his body hadn’t reached its limit yet. He could go a little longer."Don't think I don't recognize what you're doing." Jimin dropped his head on his hands and Jungkook just sat there without knowing what to do. "You know I've been there. Hell, you used it against me just a few minutes ago.""I'm sorry about that." Jungkook whispered, ashamed that he would go to such lengths because of his stubbornness."All I care about is you not being in the same place I was in a few years ago." Jimin sat up straight again and Jungkook saw the pain filling his eyes. "I can't bear it, Jungkookie. I can't stand the thought of you going through that."The silence in the room was deafening, neither knowing what to say or do to make the situation better. Jimin because he was too scared to find the younger was walking down the same path he had found himself in years ago; Jungkook because he didn’t want to disappoint Jimin with the truth behind his actions.In the end, seeing his hyung hurt and worried like that just wasn’t worth it, so Jungkook started talking.“I was reading some comments online.” Jimin stilled as the words hit him; they had a lot of loving fans – most of them, really – but some were too honest and sometimes straight up rude about their opinions. “They said I gained too much weight and that I should lose it before the comeback.”“And you believed them?” Jimin asked, even though he understood it: the wish to be accepted by their fans was greater than anything else.“Every time I looked in the mirror, I would see their comments floating around me.” Jungkook admitted as he played with his food. Jimin’s heart clenched at that and he immediately reached out to hold the younger’s face and make their eyes meet.“You’re beautiful and way more than enough. You already do too much, Jungkookie; your physical appearance isn’t more important than your efforts. Believe me, not them.” Jimin pleaded.“You never believed me.” Jungkook whispered and felt his eyes fill with unwanted tears.Jimin let out a shaky breath. He knew what Jungkook was talking about, remembered the nights when he couldn’t move because he was too weak but couldn’t sleep because he was too hungry; the dizzy trips to the kitchen for a glass of water to calm down his stomach and running into Jungkook in the hallway, worry written all over the younger’s face as he would ask what was going on.Jimin remembered the habit their maknae acquired of praising him whenever he had the chance, whether it was during practice or in the secrecy of their shared blanket.Jimin remembered how long it took for him to take that as the truth. He was set on not letting the same thing happen to Jungkook.“I believe you now.” Jimin said, thumb moving to wipe a tear running down his boyfriend’s cheek. “You have to do the same. For me.”Jungkook sobbed and put his meal aside completely so he could bury himself in the warmth of Jimin’s arms. “I can’t do that.” He whispered and his voice was as fragile as it was scared; Jimin hated it.“It’s okay.” The older assured. “We’ll do this slowly. I’ll be with you for everything, you know you can come to me to whatever you need, right?” He felt Jungkook nod against his neck and moved one hand up to caress his nape. “I’ll tell you every day how beautiful you are.”“You already do that.” Jungkook mumbled on Jimin’s skin and he could feel the boy’s small smile as he said it.“I’ll do it even more, then.” Jimin answered, his own voice heavy with the urge to cry. “And I’ll remind you every time you forget it; I’ll make sure you remember how much I love you.”Jungkook hugged Jimin tighter for a moment before he pulled away, hands wiping down his face to get rid of the unwanted tears and taking a deep, shaky breath to try calming himself down. Jimin stayed silent and let him take his time, knowing none of this should be rushed in any way.“I can’t eat that right now.” Jungkook said staring at the forgotten bowl on the table.“It’s alright. We can put it away until you’re ready to eat later.” Jimin proposed and softly interlaced their fingers.“Okay.” Jungkook nodded and fell silent again, eyeing their hands and the way Jimin was rubbing small circles on his skin.“Want to take a nap?” The older asked after a moment, voice soft and soothing.“Yeah, that would be nice.” He agreed.The pair got up and went to their shared room. They were quiet as Jungkook lied down and let Jimin wrap himself around him, feeling safe and loved at the warmth surrounding him. Jimin carded his fingers through the younger’s hair slowly, humming a sweet melody that soon led him to sleep. Months later, when Jungkook felt like himself again, he would make sure to show Jimin just how much he loved him too, and how grateful he was for having him by his side.