Superheroes - 슈퍼 히어로 | BTS Fanfiction | Yoonmin

| Chapter 39 | 'Appaaa! Seriously help!'

The weekend came quicker than Jimin anticipated. With BTS to talk to during the day and a visit from Zangling on Thursday night, he was never bored. That, and he still did homework even though he couldn't go to school.

As for BTS, he had tried to insist that they go back to school, but all the members were worried after he - and Hoseok - fainted the other day, missed school for a photoshoot and then took sick for the rest of the week.

It was Friday evening and Hoseok, who had been unfailingly silent for an entire hour which, in and of itself, was suspicious, suddenly became very serious. "Jimin-ah?" Jimin paused his conversation with Taekook very happily - because no one wanted to be the third wheel all the time - and turned his attention to his friend. 

Hoseok suddenly grabbed his shoulders and stared intensely at him. "Don't exhaust yourself, okay?" This statement had him stumped. Where was this coming from? "When I started university, I worried about everything and stayed up late all the time studying for hours." He gave Jimin's shoulders a soft shake. "In the end, I studied without aim, for too many hours all while I was exhausted. On top of that, I worried about everything, even things that I couldn't change."

"That's awful, hyung!" Jimin glomped his friend. "You're not doing that now, are you?"

By now, the rest of BTS had stopped talking and were watching the two of them instead. Namjoon ruffled Jimin's hair a bit too forcefully and laughed. Jimin just knew he was going to feel annoyed in a moment. "That's a question you need to ask yourself, Jiminie-jams."

With a sulky glare, the orangehead ignored his appa. He hated that name, especially the inclusion of 'jams' when Namjoon always, always, every time without fail, foiled his attempts to actually eat any of the stuff. He huffed and turned his nose up at the older.

Smirking, Namjoon leaned back into his seat and hooked his arm around Jin's shoulders wordlessly. Jin rolled his eyes but acquiesced to his husband's not-so-subtle cue to provide backup. "Hoseok-ah? What about the lessons you learned?" he asked, bringing all attention back to the redhead.

Hoseok cleared his throat uncomfortably. Probably, Jimin thought, because Taehyung had been spending the last few minutes staring at the oldest - even though he hadn't been speaking - in an owlish manner, wide-eyed and unblinking. 

After a 'go on' gesture from Namjoon, Hoseok began to explain. "Right. Well, as I said, I studied inefficiently for long periods and I worried about everything. What I learned is that you need to study with a goal in mind, and never spend more than two hours studying one subject every day. But most importantly, I learned that the combined stress of worrying about everything all the time, and my determination to study even when I just desperately wanted to sleep, is dangerous."

"Oh." Jimin didn't really know what to say. He tried not to imagine Hoseok behaving like that, but all he could see in his mind's eye was Hoseok with bags under his eyes working himself to death. It made him hug his friend tighter.

"Jimin-ah," Hoseok started gently. "I'm older than your appas. So why do you think I'm a year behind them in university?"

That made him paused. Why would Hoseok be a year behind? His parents certainly wouldn't allow him to have a gap year, and he knew that neither Jin nor Namjoon had taken one either. So why...?

"I'll answer for you." The gentle pat on his shoulder from the redhead somehow didn't seem so comforting. "I burnt out. I kept fainting but didn't tell anyone. And then one day, I blanked out in the dorms, in Seoul, and suddenly came to consciousness again in Daejeon - that's one hundred and forty kilometres away. It had been two days. And I did not remember a thing."

If Jimin had been struck silent before, then he didn't think he would be able to even open his mouth now. His lips felt so dry that they were stuck together. Even Taehyung and Jungkook had stopped whispering and nudging each other.

And then, their hug stopped being a hug and suddenly became a dogpile, courtesy of the two youngest. In the background, he could hear Namjoon laughing at his muffled pleas for help. "Appaaa! Seriously help!"

After a few minutes of prolonged torture, Namjoon and Jin finally decided to pull Taehyung and Jungkook away. From his seat on the only armchair, Yoongi smirked amusedly. Jimin pouted and retreated to his seat. So unfair.

"Oh," Jimin blurted. "That doesn't actually explain why you're a year behind, hyung. Why were you...?"

Hoseok chuckled, ruffling Taehyung's hair and then Jungkook's in a strangely affectionate manner before turning back to Jimin. "My parents didn't want to allow it, but my psychiatrist insisted that I had to drop out of university until I could be diagnosed and medicated and develop strategies to prevent me from getting overstressed. So I dropped out for eight months, and by then I couldn't pick up classes again, so I waited for the next spring." With a wry grin, he added, "Taking entrance tests the second time after dropping out makes it really hard to get in."

This really made Jimin stop and think. He, like most other Koreans, would, of course, try to get the best education possible. But how could he get the best education if he was too mentally ill to actually take advantage of the opportunity offered him? How could he be good enough to get into university - which is notoriously difficult and competitive - and maintain good mental health as well?

He looked over at Hoseok, who had been distracted again by Taehyung and Jungkook. The former was busy clinging to him like a koala bear and the latter was wavering between jealousy and compassion.

Maybe Hoseok was right. If he stopped worrying so much he would be far less stress. The older really didn't know what he was actually going through, but he gave good advice. It didn't mean he would go anywhere by himself - he wasn't as stupid as to put himself into situations where Bastimae could get to him - but if he was sensible he would be alright.

Another thought occurred to him and it made him feel dumb. Girls have to think about their own safety all the time even though he and his friends didn't. Why not ask a girl?

"Hoseok-hyung, you have a sister, right?"