Glow

Unexpected Sadness

It's not until next morning that I realize we never left the living space. 

With the sun filtering through the large glass wall I blink at the brightness, look around and realize I am laid out on one couch. Hoseok is still asleep, his head leaning on a pillow propped near my own head while he leans against the couch, the maknae line having pulled the pillows and blankets out of their rooms to make a group sleepover, with Hoseok's lap for their heads.

The blanket over me is soft and yellow, and I'm not sure whose it is, but the sudden awareness of my bladder has me mentally scrambling, trying to figure out how to remove myself without stepping on anyone.

Seokjin, Yoongi, and Namjoon are all in the kitchen, Namjoon watching and being quiet while the other two work seamlessly to figure out breakfast.

Finally I can't wait anymore and I vault the back of the couch, removing myself from the possibility of waking the rest of the guys. As I pad towards the slightly off track door to my hallway I wave good morning quietly to the three awake, not even looking to see if they noticed.

Once I feel more human and less like a flattened couch pillow I head back into the main space to find Yoongi waking the rest up as Namjoon helps Jin plate the food for everyone, and I head to the fridge to pull out juices and waters for everyone.

****

'So does my contract get suspended too?' I ask around a mouthful of food. Namjoon writes my question down in his notebook, already a quarter full from being brand new last night.

'Also, does Y/N being our soul bonded affect our contracts at all? I remember dating issues, but this isn't that...' Yoongi adds, and Namjoon nods his agreement as he adds that to his notes as well.

Everyone is pretty much done eating so the maknae line clears the island and washes everything, occasionally bumping and apologizing to Hobi as he peeks over Namjoon's shoulder.

'Do we need a marriage lawyer for the soul bonded part of the question?' He asks hesitantly. The now obvious thought makes Namjoon's head whip to look at him, accidentally making them kiss. The uproar of this inadvertent action, while hilarious, gets us off track.

When Namjoon's phone rings in the midst of this uproar he heads over to answer it, his face grim with expectations of needing to defend himself.

Instead he suddenly slumps, shock changing his face, making him pale. 'Eomma...' he says, then listens. Seokjin walks over to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and navigates him to a couch to sit down. I can't tear my eyes away from him, my concern growing, and I know the rest of the guys feel the same as everyone stills and stops talking, silence becoming prevalent.

When his hand drops, his eyes dazed, I wait to see how they handle this.

'Yah! Tell us! We need to know!' Jin says, slapping Namjoon's thigh a little too close to his crotch as he suddenly winces and curls over in pain. 'Sorry, sorry...' he says, rubbing his back instead as an apology.

'My hal-abeoji, my grandfather, passed away last night...' he says, tears running down his face.

Taehyung immediately moves to sit by Namjoon's feet, hugging a knee in support. Jimin joins him, going behind the couch to give their friend and leader a hug.

'I'm crying from pain you pabos!' He hoarsely shouts as he works to sit upright again. 'Jin. That fucking hurt!'

'I said I was sorry! Do I need to bow too?!' Seokjin protests, moving away slightly. Jungkook takes advantage of this action and hip checks him further away, placing himself in between the two, his focus on Namjoon.

'You know you can talk to us, right?' Hoseok asks, leaning forward to get Namjoon's attention. 

Nodding he finally accepts the attention the maknae line is giving him. 'I know. Thank you. Everyone.' He gives Seokjin a dirty look, covering his crotch, before continuing. 'It's just... I haven't seen my hal-abeoji in years. It was always during summer trips as a kid when we went to see family.' Taking a deep breath he continued. 'He's the one who helped me figure out how to be in the moment. I was always in my head, learning and figuring things out, both at school and at home. He introduced me to plants, to gardening.' 

'Is that where you also found your love for small creatures?' Yoongi asks.

'Actually I hated them at first. Snails were pests that would eat leaves, frogs meant sitting water, which is bad for plants. I tried getting rid of them, only for them to come right back as if I did nothing.' He sighed, rubbing his face, then smiled sadly. 'Hal-abeoji taught me that they weren't a problem, but rather messengers, and I needed to listen to them and to the plants to figure out what to do. And, by listening I became a better gardener.'

'Do you miss a proper garden?' I asked, and Jimin nodded his agreement to my question.

'No, not really. I found a new love with the bonsai plants I've gathered. Now I can garden and listen to my plants wherever I am.' His smile turned sad as he finished, tears running down his face again. This time Jungkook couldn't stop crying in sympathy. When Yoongi passes the tissues to Namjoon Jungkook quickly swipes one first, making him give the maknae a shocked look... until he noticed him crying as well.

Not that there were any truly dry eyes in the room.