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To say Jinyoung was mad was an understatement. He was positively fuming, the usually happy man’s face clouded with anger as he was seated onto the couch inside the dorm, eyes trained onto the clock on the wall. Five minutes to twelve and with every tick of the small black line which indicated seconds his temper was rising up.
‘He’ll be back soon hyung…’
He heard a soft voice, making him turn his head and see Youngjae, already clad into his sleep attire like all of them (minus one of course) were. The younger boy was holding the small white puppy in his arms and when he realised that not even the small happy yip Coco did when he saw him managed to change the expression of the dorm’s ‘mom’, he knew very little would manage to ease his fury.
‘I know Jae, go to sleep...’ The older replied with a heavy sigh as the pinched the bride of his nose. ‘Is Mark sleeping?’
‘Yeah he fell asleep a little while ago, almost dropped his phone on his face.’ Youngjae provided with a sleepy chuckle.
‘That idiot…’ A small smile made way onto Jinyoung’s face at the mention of Mark’s antics. They were all exhausted and he couldn’t be more thankful that the next two days were free, giving them time to sleep and recharge.
It was starting to get too much and they all needed rest. He knew for a fact that the maknaes and Jackson, now joined by Mark, were pretty much passed out in their beds, not planning on waking up until noon the next day. And who would blame them? As much as they loved what they were doing and were so happy they had concerts and all their hard work was paying off, comeback, concerts, doubled practices and shows were starting to take a toll on all of them. Especially on the ones prone to stress too much.
‘You’re waiting there until he gets back?’
‘Yeah… Good night, Youngjae.’ Jinyoung smiled at the yawn the other gave, returning the small wave as he got the tired ‘night hyung’ back, leaving him to tap the seconds away on this thigh again.
It wasn’t the waiting that annoyed him, it was the reason why. He understood that the pressure was too much sometimes and that with a perfectionist attitude came a lot of downsides, but they all agreed to take it easy that afternoon. Finish practice earlier, go back to the dorm and eat, hang around maybe then go sleep and spend the weekend, their free weekend together, bonding or whatever, going out, something other than practice.
Of course something had to go and ruin the plan. Jaebum was called to the management just as they were planning to leave the building. Their leader smiled and told them he’ll be back after the meeting’s over. Now 4 hours and a half later he still hasn’t come. And Jinyoung knew for a fact that the meeting ended. Jaebum was running on 3 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, and when he found out the other hasn’t eaten since dinner last night it was the last drop, making the glass spill. He knew the older was just trying his best for the team, wanting everything to be perfect and good so they wouldn’t make mistakes or jeered at, but enough was enough. Jinyoung was still skittish from the leader’s last injury, and no one wanted a repetition of that.
But apparently old habits die hard, Jaebum diving right back into the stressing and pushing himself too much mode once he had a green light from the doctors. Sometimes Jinyoung wanted to strangle him for doing this. He cared too much for the older to watch him slowly but surely destroy himself. He wanted to forbid him from doing certain things, but knowing how Jaebum was, he couldn’t risk angering the other. Sure, his anger management was way better than it once was, but the new favourite technique he has was giving the cold shoulder and proving wrong to the person who tried to limit him. This would have the opposed effect of what Jinyoung wanted to achieve.
He was pulled out of his thought when he heard the front door opening, followed by the electric beep that signalled the lock closing and a part pained, part tired groan from the hallway. A quarter past twelve.
Jaebum must have strained his back when he took off his shoes, the sound worrying Jinyoung, as well as making his eyebrow twitch, trying and hoping his assumptions were wrong.
‘Where were you?’
There came the immediate question when Jaebum tried to sneak inside his shared room with Jackson, looking at Jinyoung with wide eyes. He probably didn’t expect the younger to wait for him, or the accusatory tone used. The dark shadows under his eyes and the tired, guilty look in did nothing to assure the younger. Jaebum was never able to hide things from Jinyoung, not when they were trainees, not during the JJ Project days and certainly not now.
‘The meeting ran late…’
‘Please, I know the meeting ended up at least two hours ago! You went back to the practice room didn’t you?’
Jinyoung didn’t mean to sound so accusatory or to raise his voice, but his worries and fear of the other injuring himself again making him lose his temper. Getting up from his place on the couch he approached the other, who was starting to look even guiltier. The leader knew how much the younger worried.
‘Not immediately after…’ he managed to mumble before Jinyoung’s mouth started to run, careful not to raise his voice too much so he would wake up the others.
‘Seriously Jaebum?!’ Honorifics be dammed, Jinyoung was furious. ‘Why would you do that? We promised to rest today!’
‘Yeah I know but…’
‘No buts! You promised just like the rest of us, but you deliberately went back just because we weren’t there!’
‘It doesn’t matter! Look I’m sorry, but it doesn’t matter. They were just two hours.’
Jaebum was feeling attacked, he knew he shouldn’t have and that Jinyoung had all the right to scold him, but he couldn’t just take everything that was thrown at him without saying anything. He already felt that he let everyone down once, he missed a lot of practices already, and he was determined to make it up for it.
‘Because you gave us your word! You’re the leader and you’re the one who breaks promises, how’s that for leading the team and setting an example?’
‘Don’t go there.’
‘What if you injured yourself again? No one was there to help you, did you think about that?’
‘I did think about that! I didn’t do anything strenuous, give it a break Jinyoung! I’m tired.’
‘That’s why you were supposed to give it a break and come back after the meeting!’
Jinyoung saw how the elder’s jaw clenched, instead of gracing him with an answer. ‘He has the nerve to get mad that little…’ he thought as his eyes narrowed, words aimed to hurt.
‘The next few days are free Jaebum, you plan to ditch us again? After all, promises mean nothing to you. Do we still mean something to you?’
‘What?! Of course—‘
‘Then maybe you’ll consider making some room for us in your busy solo activities.’
With his last words Jinyoung turned around not without seeing the surprised hurt expression of the other and stalked into his room, ignoring the calls to his name and closing the door behind him. Throwing himself under the covers he let out a deep sigh, keen on ignoring everything until the next day.
He could still feel the anger bubbling into his chest, so he ignored the soft knocks on the door. He already said too much, hurting the elder and he didn’t want to do it more. As much as he wanted to knock some sense into Jaebum he didn’t want to hurt him more or worse, prompt him to not speak with him again.
He was quite sure his anger would fade by the next day and he could find a way to speak with Jaebum on the side, discuss everything and maybe apologise for what he said. He knew how much the leader treasured the team and everyone in it (though he liked to believe he had a special place in the other’s heart), so he knew his words must have hit home. His last thoughts before sleep took over his tired mind was that maybe Jaebum would realise why he said everything and understand, that would make the talk next day much easier.
間奏
The next day he didn’t wake up on his own accord, but by a shout and the sound running footsteps, both thankfully muffled by the door. He groaned and checked the clock on his phone: twenty past nine. Way too early for a free day. He rubbed his eyes a bit and turning around on his side and planning to go back to sleep when his door was banged on the wall as it opened, almost giving him a heart attack.
‘What?’ he whined in a sleepy tone totally not in the mood for the member’s antics.
‘Hyung you have to come!’ Furrowing his eyebrows at the scared voice of Yugyeom he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
‘What for?’
‘I don’t have time to explain and you wouldn’t believe me either, just come!’ Jinyoung didn’t even have time to retort something as the maknae grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the warm bed, dragging him to Jackson’s and Jaebum’s room.
He was greeted with the sight of Jackson staring at the bed in something akin to surprise and horror. ‘That would explain the earlier shout…’ He thought as he looked around the room all the others in various stages of fright and awe. Looking at the bed he realised what the fuss was all about, fear running through his veins as well as his eyes widened: in Jaebum’s bed, instead of the rightful owner there was a small child about 4 years old sleeping soundly while being wrapped around one of the multiple pillows on the bed, head buried in it and mostly covered by the blankets.
‘Why is there a kid in the dorm?!’
He screeched, looking at the others. He knew the door was locked last night, so he couldn’t have entered, so someone had to have brought him over.
‘How are we supposed to know?! Jackson-hyung woke us all up by screaming like a banshee!’
Came Bambam’s sassy reply, which just prompted Jackson to wake up from his reverie and jump up to his feet.
‘Yah, you brat! You wake up to this and then comment about yelling!’
With that the two started to argue, Youngjae and Yugyeom going to try and pry them off, the crankiness obvious by the way everyone was just woken up. Mark still had to move from the place he had, eyes trained on the small figure on the bed. Jinyoung could see the wheels turning in his head.
‘Okay, calm down both of you!’ he said using his now dubbed ‘umma’ voice as he turned to them. ‘Jackson how did this happen?’
‘I don’t know, I woke up to go drink some water and I saw the kid!’
‘Did he wake up?’
‘No, he grumbled something and hid in the pillow. It was very cute actually…’
‘Not now Jackson… He couldn’t have come out of nowhere though.’
‘The door is still locked, Youngjae checked it.’
‘Yeah I did! Where’s Jaebum-hyung though? He just vanished, because he’s nowhere in the dorm!’ Youngjae added from the side, everyone now starting to calm down.
‘What do you mean he’s nowhere, he came back last night?!’
‘Uhm guys…’
No one seemed to hear Mark talking, focused on discussing how the kid has appeared and where Jaebum has disappeared.
‘Maybe hyung brought the kid and went to buy stuff?’
‘Don’t be stupid Yugyeom, from where could he bring the kid?’
‘I don’t see you coming up with anything Bambam so shut it!’
‘He couldn’t have just kidnapped a random kid from the street though no?’
‘Of course he didn’t Youngjae, Jesus! Jinyoung you saw him last right?’
‘Yeah but---‘
‘GUYS!’
Everyone turned towards Mark startled by the sudden shout of the quiet elder.
‘The kid’s waking up.’
‘WHAT?!’
A collective shout filled the room with noise as they all gathered around the bed, next to Mark. On the bed the kid had risen up startled, looking around at them with big scared eyes. Well truth be told they weren’t that big, since they were looking quite feline, everyone sure that if the kid smiled his eyes would turn into crescents and disappear almost completely. The kid’s brown hair was sticking around in all directions, his features quite familiar, just as the t-shirt that he was wearing which was effectively swallowing him up. The sight was quite adorable, most of their hearts melting at it.
They remained staring at each other before Youngaje exclaimed.
‘Look at his left eye!’
Jinyoung’s eyes widened as he did what their resident sunshine said. Two moles were decorating the boy’s eyelid. He stepped closer by instinct, while the boy, who already recoiled back at the loud sounds, whimpering before shuffling backwards on the bed until he was pressed against the headboard.
‘Shut it everyone you’re scaring him!’
‘Bambam stop yelling!’
‘Oh, sorry—‘
‘You were yelling too Jackson.’
‘Shut it, Gyeom.’
Ignoring the three who started bickering in hushed tones, Jinyoung frowned. It couldn’t be? It was impossible right? Trying to get closer to the boy, he was pulled back by Youngjae as the small one gripped the pillow harder, eyes starting to glisten.
‘Don’t hyung. He’s scared.’
‘But he’s—‘
‘Hey there, sweetie.’ They both turned to see Mark taking a seat on the bed, talking with the kid normally with a soft smile on his face, not wanting to scare him further. This managed to grip the kid’s attention, turning his head towards the American.
‘Can you tell me what’s your name?’ Mark asked him over the hushed sounds from the back, the trio stopping their bickering.
(‘He’s the kid tamer—‘
‘Now’s not the time for jokes Bambam!’
‘Geez, loosen up a little hyung.’
‘Shut up both of you’
‘I’m older than you brat!’
‘Sorry hyung…’)
‘J-Jaebum…’
‘That’s not possible!’ Jinyoung exclaimed, forgetting to keep his voice down and getting a pillow in the face, prompting everyone but Mark to start laughing.
The boy, technically mini Jaebum, got scared and threw the pillow at Jinyoung before scrambling to hide behind Mark, who took the opportunity to pick the boy up and set him on his lap. He didn’t expect the boy to latch onto him, hiding his head in the blonde’s chest whimpering.
‘Hey hey, it’s okay Jaebummie….’ Jackson approached the duo, crouching down and gently rubbing the boy’s back, his whole demeanour changing from the one he had earlier when he was bickering with the maknaes.
It took a bit for Markson to calm down Jaebum, which was now leaning against Mark’s chest and looking around at everyone, holding onto the now taller's shirt. The maknae line went to join Jackson on the floor, while Jinyoung remained rooted on the spot. He couldn’t believe baby Jaebum reacted like that because of him, but was latching onto Mark. He was the closest one to the big version!
‘Do you know who we are?’
Mark asked and got a nod in reply, the boy saying everyone’s name, even though his voice trembled at Jinyoung’s. Continuing to ask questions to the boy, they found out a few things: 1) he knew their names and thought they were his brothers, 2) he knew what was the date and year and 3) he had no recollections of his adult memories and was basically a toddler.
(‘Well that sucks—‘
‘Language Yugyeom! He’s four.’)
‘We have to call manager hyung.’ Came Mark’s conclusion after the small interrogatory, moving Jaebum on the bed as Jackson and Youngjae stared to play with him, making faces and baby talking, making him laugh, only to be joined by the Bambam and Yugyeom.
He looked at Jinyoung as the vocalist moved to take a seat next to him and nodded with a sigh, both startled when Jaebum jumped off the bed as if he saw the devil himself, all laughter and smiles from earlier gone. The t-shirt acting as a dress on him since he shrunk and almost tripping him, Jackson hot on his trail as the kid was saying something about a ‘scary hyung’.
‘I think he’s scared of you Nyoungie.’
‘But why hyung?’ Jinyoung couldn’t do much to hide the hurt in his voice.
‘I don’t know… Maybe it’s about the fight last night?’
‘How do you know about that?’
‘I am not deaf like the others and I wasn’t asleep yet. Doesn’t matter now, we need to call manager hyung and find out how did this happen. He shrunk!’
‘I know… God how do we explain this?!’
‘I … I don’t know.’ Mark said with a defeated sigh, thinking what they had to do. They had no leader now( well they had the four year old version) and as the oldest he had to take care of the rest. He smiled softly as Jinyoung patted his back with a smile.
‘You did great though hyung. I don’t think we could have managed well without you…’
‘Thanks… Sorry he liked me more than you though, I know you—‘
‘Sorry to interrupt your heart to heart moment, but someone’s hungry and we have no idea what to feed him.’
Jackson was in the door, holding Jaebum in his arms as the child was playing with one of the multiple plushies in the dorm. Jinyoung sighed and gave Mark a strained smile.
‘Yeah, it’s okay. You go handle that, I’ll call manager hyung. I don’t want him to start crying cause I go near him…’
‘He’ll come around… Or better go back to his normal size before you’ll even know it?’ Mark offered as he got up from the bed and went towards the door.
‘Hopefully…’
Jinyoung muttered as he saw the two disappear with baby Jaebum, his chest constricting and missing the curious small gaze trained on him, since he was fumbling with Jaebum’s phone.
He couldn’t believe his Jaebum was afraid of him.
‘Hello, hyung? Yeah it’s Jinyoung. We have a problem. Jaebum-hyung turned into a kid.’
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
A lot of things changed. Some things didn’t though. What didn’t change was that: 1) Jaebum still liked to eat, 2) Stuffing his cheeks with food was still a habit, even with someone else feeding him since he couldn’t hold the chopsticks, and 3) He still looked absolutely adorable, like a chipmunk. ‘Not the time for that Jinyoung.’ What did change was that: 1) Jaebum couldn’t reach the table so he was sitting on someone’s lap, 2) That someone was Jackson, and 3) It apparently was a feat to get him to put the plush toy down to eat, no matter how hungry he was. The said plush toy was now on the seat next to the pair. (Jinyoung was indeed pleased that the plush was, after carefully inspecting, one that he received as a gift. ‘In your face Mark… and Jackson…. Damn I am petty.’) The phone call to the manager went easier than he expected. The man was indeed surprised at the idea, but apparently it was something that has happened before to other bands. Ignoring Jinyoung’s surprised tone and the plethora of questions, the man promised to come by as fast as possible, with all of the supplies they might need for their now baby leader. That was how the vocalist was now seated at the kitchen table, not on his usual seat near Jaebum, no. At the far end of the table, because the toddler, even when distracted with food, still threw scared glances in his direction. God, he wanted to know what cause this. It was eating him inside, his stomach twisting painfully, with something akin to… Guilt? But for what? Jinyoung was pulled out of his thoughts, by a quite high pitched yell, followed by a really loud laugh. (‘Damn it BamBam stop laughing at Youngjae!’‘But he jumped out of his seat hyung!’‘You have to admit it was funny..’‘Not you too Yugyeom.’‘Sorry…’‘…Not.’) Mark was rubbing his temples with his hands, Youngjae scrambling on the floor to get a hold of the small ball of white fur that jumped on Jackson’s thigh, scaring the toddler who promptly threw the paper cup he was holding on the eldest on the bunch. Jackson was hugging Jaebum, who only now turned to look at the puppy, Coco now safely held in Youngjae’s arms, tail happily wriggling around. ‘It’s just Coco, Bummie.’ Jackson tried to appease him. (‘Why is he calling him Bummie?’ Jinyoung could have sworn he didn’t have a jealousy bone in his body until now.) ‘She’s just happy to see you. How about you try to pet her?’ The headshake that immediately followed almost didn’t surprise anyone. ‘She doesn’t bite. See?’ The resident sunshine pet the puppy while smiling encouragingly at the child. It was hard to miss the fear slowly be turned into curiosity, as Jaebum extended his (small) hand, petting Coco’s head as she yipped happily. The happy grin that made his way onto the child’s face was priceless. ‘Still hungry?’ Jackson asked as all the attention was now turned towards the puppy, a negative reply being expected. ‘Let’s go play with Coco in the living room then okay?’ Once put down the floor, Jaebum ran with the puppy onto the room, giggles and happy yips being heard, Youngjae hot on their trail. (‘No running Jaebum-hyu… Jaebummie!’‘Sowwy…’) The rest of the maknae line followed soon after, leaving the other three in the kitchen to finish eating and clean up. Jinyoung offered to wash the dishes, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach when he realised that usually Jaebum would help him and they would chitchat and laugh while they washed, respectively dry the dishes. ‘Now’s not the time for this…’ He reminded himself. ‘Did you talk with manager-hyung?’‘Yeah I did Mark-hyung.’‘What did he say?’‘Apparently it’s happened to others before. And no Jackson I don’t know anything more about this, he said he’ll come by soon.’‘I wasn’t going…’‘Yeah you were, stop lying.’‘When you’ll stop being salty that Jaebum likes me more!’ The Chinese man said fast before bolting off the kitchen door, a soapy sponge flying after him with a wet flop in the hall. ‘You little—’‘Jinyoung what’s all this about?’‘Well hyung—’ Apparently manager hyung and the door weren’t loud enough to cover up neither the excited and happy noises from the living room, nor the outraged yell from (a very salty) Jinyoung. 間奏 Mark was slowly thinking that an ibuprofen was a really good idea. A few hours after the manager arrived, he was seated on the couch with the rest of the members, watching their friend and leader play with wooden cubes on the carpet, the small dog cheerfully wagging her tail while curled next to him. Nothing out of the ordinary except Coco now could make Jaebum fall on his butt and maybe, God forbid, injure himself, due to his smaller size and the fact that he was now 4. And dressed into a pair of short blue overalls and a pink t-shirt, compliments of the bag of clothes and the baby bag the manager brought with him. Sure, he knew he was the most composed after everything happened, but he was just as freaked out and confused as the rest. Maybe a little less confused now that the manager explained everything. It was still hard to stomach. Age regression: something that has been affecting the idols for a few years, out of a combination of exhaustion, stress and sometimes emotional problems. All of them were exhausted, but Mark felt guilty he never took the time to make Jaebum sit down and talk to him. He wouldn’t have listened to anyone else were they to ask the same thing. (Being the oldest had its multiple perks after all.) When everything piled up, adding the last drop to the glass instead of a metaphorical spillage, the person would regress in age. However, they would still retain memory of the people they once knew, just slightly altered so they could relax and forget about everything bothering them. They called it the way the mind and body decided to deal with everything. Somehow they still remained with some of the emotions that affected them the most. Which was starting to confuse Mark more and more, because his only question that remained in place even after all of the explanations and tons of questions (the manager left the house as fast as he could after the avalanche of questions to avoid another one), he still couldn’t understand why Jaebum was scared of Jinyoung. ‘So we just have to wait for him to go back to his original size?’ The quite exasperated voice of the aforementioned feared vocalist came. The eldest couldn’t phantom how it felt to be in his shoes and certainly didn’t want to. ‘That’s what the manager said… You can’t hurry the process since it’s all in his head.’ Jackson’s voice came from the couch where he was sprawled onto, half leaning onto the air as he filmed Youngjae now play with the toddler, which was excitedly explaining what his castle was for. (Junior could rest assured that the plush toy was still plastered to his side. ‘I know you’re pleased by it Jinyoung, you salty ass— Calm is the key Mark, calm.’) ‘You can all wait here and stare at him till he grows back, I’m heading out… Jesus why is he cute—. ‘ All of the now hyung line’s heads, Jinyoung added turned to see Bambam fully dressed and ready to go outside. (‘That’s why he disappeared for an hour or so—‘ ‘Why are you even surprised Jackson?’ ‘It stopped surprising me a while ago Youngjae-ah…’) ‘What do you mean heading out?’ Jinyoung frowning wasn’t exactly a good sign. ‘Seriously hyung, today was, is the first free day we had in weeks. And, as I correctly remember, this day was for us to do whatever we wanted so we can hang out all tomorrow. And I am not losing the summer sales.’ Bambam sighed as Yugyeom appeared behind him. ‘What he means is that we’re worried about him too, but staying there and staring is not going to make him change back faster. We should all be glad he’s resting really…’ (‘Since when are they observant?’ Mark had to stop his snicker at Jinyoung’s mumbled comment. ‘Once in a lifetime experience.’ Jackson’s comment sure did it and threw them all in a giggle fit.‘We can still hear you!’ Yugyeom’s amused smile and no bite comment assured them he didn’t take it to heart. Mark was glad they were all loosening up.) ‘Sass taken aside, they have a point… We all had plans for today.’ Youngjae’s voice came from the carpet, making them turn their heads to him. Jaebum was still absorbed into creating the castle, holding a cube with a hand, his other one rubbing at his eyes as he yawned. ‘Bambam was right, why is he so cute?’ ‘That’s true… Mark and I were going to meet up with Amber, Eric and Jimin today. God knows when we’ll all be able to do that.’ Jackon provided while getting up from the couch, stretching. ‘We’re still going Mark?’ ‘Totally. Wait… who didn’t have anything planned for today?’ ‘Since I am going shopping with Bam and Gyeom, I guess Jinyoung-hyung and Jaebum-hyung? Or they were going to do something together?’ It was now Jinyoung’s turn to have all eyes on him. ‘Well… We were supposed to hang out, watch a movie or something, but now…’ ‘Great, then you’re gonna stay with him home!’ Bambam cheerfully commented. ‘Are you out of your mind?! He can barely stand being in the same room with me!’ ‘Well that’s your problem isn’t it? Really now Jinyoung you gotta solve that… And stop being salty.’ ‘I am not salty Jackson!’ (‘Sure he’s not..’ ‘Totally salty.’ ‘Obviously so.’ ‘Daaamn maknae line got savage…’) Getting up from the couch, Mark went towards the toddler and picked him up together with the plush, trying his best to not let his heart melt when Jaebum rested his head on his shoulder and hugged the plush tightly, yawning again. ‘The point is someone has to stay with him. We all would, but at the same time you’re the only one who doesn’t have something to do. He’s gonna sleep for a while anyway and we’re probably going to be back before he wakes up. You got to settle this thing with him anyway.’ ‘I know Mark-hyung, but…’‘Come with me, we’re going to put him to sleep.’ Mark said, going towards Jackson and Jaebum’s shared room, placing the almost asleep toddler into the bed and making sure he was comfortable.‘What if you’re not gonna be here? What then?’‘Then you settle things with him. Make him not scared of you again.’‘How do I even do that? He’s four for crying out loud.’ He could hear the others gathering their things and already starting to leave the dorm. It was going to be a nightmare.‘He might be four, but he’s still the same Jaebum we know. Just smaller. Don’t you know him best?’ Mark raised an eyebrow, knowing he won when he saw the look Jinyoung had. ‘Everything’s gonna be fine, you’ll see?’ He smiled as he patted the younger’s shoulder and existed the room, before throwing one last look at Jaebum who was already in dream land, Jinyoung looking at him with the sweetest smile he ever saw. He had a feeling everything was going to be fine. 間奏 Jinyoung was lying down on the couch; legs sprawled over the whole length while he was reading a book. He tried to watch television, but nothing managed to catch his attention for long enough and he remembered that he still didn’t catch up with the latest book he was reading. So there he was reading peacefully, while the TV was left on, on some channel that always had documentaries. God knew what it was about but he liked the calm background noise that came with it, the voices used at documentaries always being soft and even. In the end he took Mark’s advice and relaxed a bit. Jaebum was sleeping, exhausted from playing with Coco and then with the makneas and Jackson. He was surprised it took him that long to get tired. The others were going to come back before he’d wake up and he won’t have to deal with anything. Problem solved. He wasn’t running away from the problem, no. He was simply avoiding it, since he had no idea how to fix it. Wrecking his brain he couldn’t find a reason for the other’s actions and behaviour. Jaebum wouldn’t get scared or that upset over what he said last night no? He was harsh but he never meant to actually hurt the other. Okay, maybe he did a little (he was a bit savage) but he felt bad for it and he wanted to apologise. ‘Apologise to a toddler now Jinyoung, surely he’ll understand. Yeah, right.’ He mumbled to himself, rolling his eyes and realising that he read the same sentence at least a dozen times already. He’ll never be able to concentrate on his book. ‘Hyung?’ His head never turned faster in his life, seeing Jaebum look at him with weary eyes from the door of the room. He smiled, hoping he wouldn’t seem threatening to the other: he’ll be friendly and manage to make the other like him best again. (‘No, I was not jealous.’) ‘Yeah Jaebummie, what is it?’ Except it was easier said than done. Despite being as friendly as he could (kids usually liked him damn it), Jaebum didn’t move, though the now older could see his eyes darting to the TV, making him finally pay attention to what was rolling on the screen: a cat documentary. ‘Of course!’ ‘He’s still the same Jaebum.’ Mark’s earlier words came into his mind, making him try his best to hide his grin. The leader always had a soft spot for cats, not being able to keep Nora with them in the dorm broke his heart and he was usually missing her, especially as he usually saw how happy Youngjae and Mark were with Coco there with them. Sure, he loved the small white dog as well (I mean who wouldn’t?), but it was obvious he wanted to have Nora there as well. Obviously, small Jaebum would love cats a lot as well. ‘Wanna come here to watch the documentary with me? They’re going to show the kittens next.’ He was fishing so badly with tat last thing, but he could see the other’s eyes sparking with curiosity and happiness, despite the weariness he still had, the vocalist’s lips sprawling into a grin as the kid waddled towards him and the couch, raising his arms up. Cheering into his mind, he picked him up, praying to whichever God there was out there to hear him out and help him as he placed Jaebum in his lap. To his surprise the other just leaned against his chest, eyes wide and trained onto the screen, already engrossed into the images of the different felines. Slowly he found himself relaxing, more focused on the kid in his lap and his excited reactions, than on what was happening in the documentary. What Mark told him was indeed true, Jaebum was still the same, just smaller and cuter. He still focused in the same way; his eyes still slightly widened when he was in awe about something, lips slightly parted, and expression changing only to a smile when he saw something that really made him happy. Jinyoung found himself smiling at the thought, hand absentmindedly moving to pat Jaebum’s hair softly, realising what he was doing when the boy tensed slightly, curious eyes suddenly in his line of vision. ‘Crap…’ Internal panic was something he was slowly but surely getting accustomed to. ‘Hyung you should get a kitty…’ ‘What?’ Jinyoung’s eyes widened at that. He expected the other to be upset, instead he got the other smiling at him softly, eyes forming a tiny, yet absolutely adorable eye smile. ‘Oh really?’ ‘Yeah, cause then you’d have who to pet.’ ‘Awww, but we’re not allowed to have kittens in the apartment Jaebummie.’ He could play this game. Seeing small Jaebum pout didn’t melt his heart, no it didn’t. ‘But why? We have Coco…’ ‘Because we’re too busy, not even Coco stays permanently.’ Jaebum’s eyes narrowed in thought at the words. ‘Then we’ll get a kitty when we move out hyung.’ He said thoroughly convinced as he turned his head back to the documentary. ‘One just like that one.’ He said excitedly, pointing at the Siamese kitten on screen. Okay, now Jinyoung’s heart surely melted. He didn’t know if it was for the fact that Jaebum chose a kitten that looked almost exactly like Nora, subconsciously still missing his cat, or that he said they’d move out together. ‘Wait what—‘ ‘When we do what Jaebummie?’ ‘When we move out… You said we’ll always be together no?’ He turned his head again in Jinyoung’s direction, expression the embodiment of curiosity, eyes a mixture of innocence and slight anxiety. He couldn’t believe that he remembered. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, since he supposedly remembered part, or at least the emotions with which he gathered after their quarrel last night. Jaebum still remembered their promise, one made after JJ Project was put on hold, when their future was uncertain, made in the middle of the night in their old dorm.
‘We’ll always be together Jinyoungie, whether if we continue like this or debut again, we’ll be together no? Or at least we’ll try… Promise me.’ It was one of the rare occasions when Jaebum showed his insecurities and acted his age, because at the end of the day, after being Jinyoung’s pillar when they were announced their activities were put on hold and doing his best to calm him down, Jaebum was still a teenager, just an year older and probably just as confused and scared.
‘I promise.’
Feeling his heart clench quite painfully, Jinyoung hugged the small boy, pressing his lips to the other’s forehead. He didn’t know why but suddenly he had a knot in his throat. Or more specifically he refused to give it a name. He really wasn’t ready to deal with all of those, not at that moment. ‘Of course we will, I promised didn’t i?’ The younger just nodded and hugged him back, not protesting when Jinyoung refused to let go of him. Even when he was small, Jinyoung still felt comforted by the other’s mere presence. After a few minutes passed, he felt a small hand tap his chest softly, the other’s next words making Jinyoung snort. ‘Jinyounggie I can’t see the kitties like this…’ He could hear the pout in Jaebum’s voice. 間奏 Jackson was a bit panicked if he were to be honest for a little. They were out with their and they seriously didn’t mean to, but somehow both him and Mark forgot any notion of time whatsoever. They decided earlier with the manager not to mention anything about their situation to anyone. Even if they didn’t know how long this was going to last, everyone hoped that it wouldn’t go past the few days they had free. And if it did they’d see how to deal with them when the time came. For now they just had to adjust their future plans after Jaebum and what was appropriate for his age: his new one that is.Both Mark and he forgot to check their phones and after they ate, they decided to go for some drinks, getting lost in conversations and anecdotes. When they looked at their phones they realised it was already 9 in the evening and it would take them about an hour, if not more to get back to the dorm. They left as soon as they realised what happened, anxiously sitting in the cab.It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Jinyoung to take care of Jaebum; they were worried about how the child would react to the elder, especially when he realised they were alone. Their hope for the maknaes to have gotten home sooner was ruined, when they arrived at the dorm and saw them entering the building.Once all inside the apartment, door securely locked behind them, they all stepped out of their shoes, a bit surprised at the eerie silence in the apartment. In the kitchen, they could see that the two left home had already ate and from the flour covered counter, plus the plate of cookies on the table it was easy to guess that the baked as well. Youngjae and Yugyeom started to clean up, while Bambam went to gather the blocks from the living room, as well as the other scattered toys.‘What—‘ Jackson frowned when he discovered his shared room with Jaebum was empty. He thought the kid would be sleeping by now. Did Jinyoung take him out for a walk or something? It wasn’t possible though, the door wasn’t locked and Jinyoung would never leave the door unlocked. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Mark calling him. ‘Jacks come here quick!’ Jackson hurried to the elder, finding him leaning against the door of Jinyoung’s room a finger propped against his lips, the universal sign of be quiet. Curious, the Chinese rapper popped his head inside the room, a smile immediately spreading onto his lips. It was a sight to see indeed. On the vocalist’s bed were the two, sleeping peacefully. Jaebum was curled into Jinyoung’s chest, the latter holding the small child protectively. Approaching them to drape a blanket over them, Jackson took Jinyoung’s phone and closed the application. It seemed like the two were watching some sort of videos on youtube before they fell asleep. ‘Cat videos, why is this not surprising?’ He snorted before taking a picture of the two with Jinyoung’s phone, putting it aside on the nightstand, not before sending it to his own phone. He walked out of the room, where Mark was still looking at the pair, with a smile onto his face. ‘I told him everything’s gonna be fine.’ ‘Now we just need Jb to go back to his own age.’ ‘I have a feeling it won’t take that long.’ ‘Predicting the future now are we Markiepooh?’ ‘Yah, you--‘ The oldest laughed as he closed the lights and followed the other rapper out of the room, closing the door after him, shaking his head at Jackson’s cheeky grin. ‘Stay with me tonight?' ‘You even have to ask?’