If you told Jungkook that the course of his life would change in a matter of minutes he'd probably tell you he sorta knew that already. Jungkook knew that life was always changing and that everything buzzed with life and shifted ever so slightly, from the humans that litered the streets to the biggest boulders on the rockiest of mountains. Everything moves and everything chnages- he knew this, he really did. But sometimes there are certain things that happen that you would have never thought would happen to you. Out of everyone in the world, something weird or unfortunate happens to you, specifically? What are the fucking odds?

Jungkook was a simple boy, not in intelligence but in his nature. He liked things simple and uncomplicated and just, peaceful. That doesn't mean he doesn't partake in his fair share of trouble but for the most part, he was a good kid. He had a great family, parents that loved him unconditionally (almost too much) and a younger brother whom he absolutely adored. Jungkook's parents always want the best for him, sending him to the best schools and the most beneficial extracurricular activities. Sure Jungkook didn't take much interest in these hobbies but it made his parents happy, so that was all alright with him. Yet, as a result of this, Jungkook wasn't the best at making his own decisions and deciding things for himself only, his parents only did that for him. But still, following along kept things simple and uncomplicated- they didn't have many disagreements or confrontations because Jungkook never really had any opinions that opposed his parents- at least not out loud-, things were just easier that way.

Jungkook had decided to stop living off his parents and get a job, it was hard at first- expressing what he wanted to his parents. It was even harder when he realized he actually had to cooperate with other people on his own. He works at a morning cafe in the heart of downtown and sure it was scary at first but Jungkook realized he liked working there. He had finally found a hobby that wasn't forced upon him by his parents and it made him excited to get up early, go to school and work right after. Sure he still had those damn extracurriculars but hey, slow steps.

Today was a Saturday in particular, but it wasn't like any other Saturday. Today felt different, in a way that Jungkook couldn't really explain. His muscles felt stiff and he had the weirdest headache that came and went in waves. Jungkook didn't want to miss his shift, he was a man (boy, really) of principle and he wasn't about to miss work just because he had a little headache.

His phone began to ring in his pocket, the vibration of the device burring in his back pocket before he shoved his hand into his jeans and pulled out his phone. He continued to walk down the busy street, trying to ignore the sound of the construction going on up ahead as he answered the phone.

"Hello?" He said, slowing his walking down and checking his watch.

10:56 am. He had some time to spare before he had to speed up.

"Kookie!" A little voice cheered.

Jungkook stopped his steps next to a tall building, the sound of jackhammers and other construction noises tuning out as he listened to his little brother's voice. His heart warmed. "Hey, Yong-rae! Did you take mom's phone again?"

The little boy on the other line whined and Jungkook can hear him stomp his foot lightly. "How'd ya know?"

Jungkook laughed, in awh of how adorable his little brother truly was. "Caller ID exists you know."

"Caller Eye TEA?" The boy repeated in confusion. Jungkook shook his head, rolling his eyes playfully. "Never mind that, what do you want?"

"Nothing! When are you coming home?"

"Yongie, I just left the house. I have work in-"

Jungkook checked the time, 10:59am.

"Like now actually, I'll have to call you back. I'll bring you some snacks from the bakery. Now, give mom her phone back."

"Okay! See you soon! Love you!"

"Love you too!" Jungkook said, putting his phone in his pocket and looked forward. He saw a large black van barrelling down the street, swerving a little between lanes. The van was coming almost straight towards him. His eyes widened and he took a couple of steps back towards the unfinished building behind him. A voice called out to him from above, shouting "Look out kid!!"

Jungkook finally looked up but it was already too late, a rectangular grey shape was already quickly descending from the top of the building and towards him, a cinderblock. Gasps and screams had surrounded the street he was on, onlookers too far from the boy to even push him away.

Jungkook felt himself take in a large breath of air, the oxygen filling his lungs before it all stopped. He felt something hit his forehead, hard.

But it didn't hurt, at all. The cinderblock had split into two after it collided with the boy's face and crashed to the floor, blowing into smaller pieces around him. Jungkook was left standing in the middle of the rubble and a stiff quiet settled over the public as Jungkook exhaled heavily. He touched his face, and the plush where his cheeks should be was replaced by hard skin before settling into the plush he knew. It was like his skin had turned to hard rock when that cinderblock hit him.

He looked around at those who stood before him, a bunch of strangers who stared at him in a mix of horror, shock, and confusion. A homeless man walked up to him, "Aye kid? You alright?"

The man's voice was hesitant, scared. As if Jungkook would hurt him, as if he could.

"U-um-"

Another, sort of familiar voice called out to him.

"Jungkook!"

Jungkook look in front of him and sure enough, the black van was there, and a head of red hair stuck out the window. The car door slid open and another boy with silver hair hopped out of the car. Running towards him and the homeless man who still stood next to him. The boy stood in front of him and grabbed his hand, "You need to come with us, we'll explain later."

Jungkook was tugged towards the black van, stuttering in confusion and looking around to the public, who had oddly enough- went back to whatever it was they were doing. What the hell? Don't they care?

He was stuffed into the van, the large boy with silver hair following behind him before sitting down and sliding the van door shut. Silver-haired guy climbed into the passenger seat after they had locked the door and the red-haired one slowly turned around to face Jungkook.

Jungkook's eyes slowly scanned across the boy's features before his eyes widened in recognition. "T-Taehyung?"

Taehyung smiled warmly at the boy, "Hey, Kooks. It's been a while."

The boy in the passenger seat chuckled, "Ah, so you do know each other!"

Jungkook watched the boys interact.

"I never said I didn't."

"But you never said you did."

They bickered for another minute before Jungkook felt his chest tighten. "What the hell is going on? How are my brains not splattered on the fucking pavement right now?"

Taehyung and the other boy paused, the silver head man spoke up gently. "Because you're special Jungkook."

"Incredibly," Taehyung added, turning around to face the wheel and starting the car.

"But we have to explain when we get to Taehyung's place. There are too many people around and the cops are probably gonna follow us soon. No thanks to Taehyung." The boy chuckled.

Taehyung rolled his eyes, "Forgot to introduce you, this is Namjoon and he can turn into a fucking crab."

Namjoon slapped the back of Taehyung's head, causing the boy to swerve lightly in the street. "I was supposed to introduce myself, idiot! You made it sound all weird."

"Turning into a crab is already kinda weird." Jungkook cut in quietly from the backseat.

Taehyung chuckled, "Jungkook gets it."

***

The van was parked in Taehyung's driveway and the boy's currently sat in Taehyung's living room.

Jungkook sat in the corner of Taehyung's couch, his hands tucked into his lap and his ankles touching as he tried to make himself as small as possible. Namjoon on the other hand laid comfortably on the couch, his hands stretched behind his head as he breathed a deep sigh.

"So, where do we start?" Namjoon asked.

Taehyung stood in front of the couch against the wall. He stared at Jungkook, taking in the boy's features in person this time instead of in his visions. The boy in question kept his eyes towards the ground, taking a sudden interest in the wood tiles. 'He looks the same.' Taehyung thought before sighing and crossing his arms.

"Well, Jungkook, I'm gonna be rather blunt." Taehyung started, walking up to the boy and crouching in front of him. He met the boy's eyes. "I've had dreams of you and Namjoon along with 4 others for quite some time now. The dreams- that I later realized were actually visions- were confusing at first, a lot of random voices and images. I thought I had been going crazy with all the dreams I'd been having. You had some weird experiences today in particular, haven't you?"

Jungkook nodded slowly, taking in the words Taehyung had said to him. He looked into the boy's intense brown eyes, the aura around them sucking him in just as they had those years ago. Jungkook blinked and looked away before he answered. "Yeah, looking back on today it felt as if something was gonna happen. I went through the same routine but everything felt so unnatural. Like something would change and I-" Jungkook gulped. "I guess it has, huh?"

"You see, Jungkook." Namjoon started, "There's something special about you, some sort of ability you have that caused you to appear in Taehyung's dreams just how I and those we have yet to find have. I didn't really believe Taehyung at first when he said he found me through a vision. He had walked into the janitor's closet wearing the uniform at an aquarium I was interning at. My arms had turned into crab pincers." Namjoon paused, lifting up his left hand from behind his head. Taehyung noticed Namjoon's hesitation.

"Joon, you don't have to," Taehyung said reassuringly.

"Well, if we want him to believe us then-" Namjoon's eyes squinted and Jungkook watched with wide eyes as the muscles under Namjoon's skin began to move and twist. Jungkook heard a bone crack before he slapped his hand over his mouth in shock, watching as the colour of Namjoon's skin changed into a burning red and his fingers morphed into pinchers.

"Holy shit," Jungkook whispered, his eyes darting between Taehyung (who didn't look phased at all), Namjoon and the fucking crab pincer that replaced the boy's left arm. "What the fuck?"

"That's what I said." Namjoon chuckled. His arm beginning to morph back into its original form.

"Does it hurt?" Jungkook asked quietly, like if he spoke any louder Namjoon might completely transform into a crab.

Namjoon smiled at the younger boy's concern. "Only a little now, but when it first happened it hurt like a bitch."

"You sure did cry like one." Taehyung muttered, a smirk planted on his face.

"I'll slap you like one too, try me." Namjoon said, playfully, pushing Taehyung from his crouched position and onto the ground.

Jungkook laughed as he watched the two bicker again. This time feeling a lot more safe than he had before.

***

Taehyung and Namjoon had driven Jungkook home and were now parked outside Namjoon's house with said boy in the passenger seat. The three boys had hit it off after Taehyung and Namjoon explained what they knew about the visions and their own abilities, which wasn't much but Jungkook seemed just as determined to find the other ones as they were. Things were going smoothly, sort of.

"You still didn't tell me how you and Jungkook know each other." Namjoon said in the silence of the van.

Taehyung sighed, "I didn't think he would remember me? I thought about him every once in a while after I'd last seen him"

Namjoon nodded in understanding, before asking quietly. "And when was that."

"3 years ago, at a bible camp. We shared a cabin and we were friends." Taehyung started, his hands tightening against the stirring wheel. "We..kissed."

"Oh shit." Namjoon said, "Y-you're gay?"

"Bisexual, but go off." Taehyung chuckled, looking at Namjoon with amused eyes.

"Sorry, but that's okay! Not that you need my approval or anything, you can be whoever you want! You wanna be dog? Okay! Woof!" Namjoon said frantically, his mouth going off at alarming speeds that even Taehyung had trouble keeping up.

"Hey!" Taehyung laughed, "It's alright! I was just teasing you."

"Whatever, man." Namjoon replied, deflating in relief before smiling and rolling his eyes. "What happened after the two of you kissed? It couldn't have been good, surrounded by like....religious people."

"Well, I didn't mind that we kissed. I liked it and I liked him, a lot." Taehyung said, his head dropping to stare at his lap and Namjoon frowned seeing the usually confident boy sound so unsure of himself. "We went to bed that night and I thought we'd be okay but I woke up and his bunk bed was empty. Apparently his parents had pulled him out early."

"Awh, man." Namjood said sadly, "I'm sorry. That must've been hard to deal with after. You think he left because you kissed him?"

"It must've been, why else would he leave?" Taehyung asked, his eyes meeting Namjoon's with a hurt, confused look. "We didn't have phones back then, so after that....he was just gone. And I thought I'd be okay with that but now that he's in front of me again. All those old feelings came flooding back."

Namjoon's hand settled on Taehyung's head, patting the hair softly as the red head sighed at the affection. "Thanks." Taehyung muttered.

Namjoon smiled, "Of course, I'm here for you man. But I'm gonna be honest with you, we all need each other right now. Jungkook needs us and we need him. So right now? We need to put all the feelings aside, at least until we find everyone."

Taehyung nodded, smiling sadly, basking in the feeling of Namjoon's hand running through his hair. "Yeah... yeah, you're right. Leave the feelings bullshit until everyone is here and safe. Besides, he probably forgot about it. Thanks Namjoon."

Namjoon nodded, ruffling his hair before unlocking the passenger door and hopping out. "No problem!" He closed the door and leaned in through the open window. "Make sure you text us when you get home, yeah?"

Taehyung started the van up again, smiling at his new found friend. "Of course, I'll talk to you soon."

Taehyung pulled out of the driveway after he watched Namjoon walk into his house and drove off, sighing into the silence of the van.

***

Jungkook replayed the events of earlier that day over and over again in his mind. The boys had spent the rest of the day together after Jungkook's incident and had driven him home after. His parents and little brother had been asleep by the time he had gotten home and Jungkook had just gone straight to bed. He laid there, his mind wandering to the red head over and over again no matter how many times he tried to steer it away.

Jungkook had a flashback of summer bible camp the moment Taehyung had turned to face him in that black van. He felt a whirlwind of emotions that had stunned his chest and stopped his heart.

Familiarity, shock, warmth, and then, guilt.

Jungkook's heart started to beat again as he uttered the boy's name from his lips, the sound feeling so familiar and so safe.

They were friends, good friends. Jungkook liked to think that it was only a matter of time before he had begun to developed feelings. It had scared him at first, the thought of falling for someone- a boy- at a fucking bible camp no less. Jungkook knew he was gay from the moment his wrist first went limp and he honestly didn't care, the only reason he had went was because his mother convinced him that it was better to be closer to god no matter who you love. But he didn't know Taehyung's situation, nor did he ever ask. You don't ask people if they're gay or not in front of a bunch of Catholics.

It was in late August, probably around 2 weeks before summer camp would come to a close. He remembers how close him and Taehyung sat next to each other on his that night, talking about anything that crossed their minds. It was as if they had always been friends and then, one boy glanced at the other and the other boy glanced back. Jungkook recalls how intense Taehyung's eyes were and he supposes some things never change. He recalls how he shivered when he felt Taehyung lean in and take his lips.

It was short, so sadly short. But Jungkook remembered as if it were yesterday.

They went to bed shortly after and in the morning, before anyone had woken up, his group councillor had brought him into the council room. Apparently his parents had come early to pick him up.

"You're brother isn't feeling well and we need you to come take care of him while we're gone." His mother said, rushing him into the car. His councillor went into his cabin and grabbed his things for him, packing it in the trunk. Jungkook wasn't even able to say goodbye, but when he saw his little brother in the car seat, sleeping with dried tears on his face all other thoughts melted away.

They drove off and Jungkook never saw Taehyung again.

Until today.

Taehyung remembered him sure, but did he remember the kiss? Had he felt anyway towards him other than friendship? What would Taehyung have done the next day if he stayed at that bible camp?

He doesn't know and with his pride he doesn't really wanna find out.

Jungkook doubts Taehyung remembers the fact that they kissed and honestly- Jungkook felt as if that was the least of their worries at the moment. He shook his head, they could talk about it another time, or rather not at all.

He turned over, pulling his blanket over his head and finally getting some rest.

***

It had to been a month after Jungkook's "hard hat performance" (as Namjoon called it) before he opened his front door to the infamous Kim Namjoon and Kim Taehyung standing on his porch. They had smiles on their faces that had Jungkook already rolling his eyes in exhaustion.

"Hey, Kooks." Taehyung said smugly.

Said boy leaned his body on the door frame, ignoring the childhood nickname and the way Taehyung's eyes raked up his figure. "And to what do I owe the pleasure at" He checks the time. "12:00am"

"Glad you asked," Namjoon replied, taking Jungkook's arm and pulling him out on the porch as Taehyung shut the door quietly behind the younger boy. "We've got another one."

Jungkook's eye widened, "Really?"

"Yeah, I know its been a while but I guess it was meant to happen like this." Taehyung answered, walking towards his van. He opened the driver door and leaned against it before speaking to the boys walking towards the vehicle.

"You know anyone named Jimin?"

_______
Lmao notice how everyone's parents are like sorta toxic??
Also now we know how Jungkook and Taehyung know each other. But it looks like they both separately agreed to hold off that topic until everyone is found and safe. When will that be tho....

Also "Yong-Rae" means "hero coming" and I thought that was fitting