Yoongi

I couldn't sleep more than a few hours even though I was exhausted. Yesterday was the most tiresome day I had experienced in a long time but I was worried about Ma-ri. While I was overjoyed to finally have her with us I also felt bad about how everything went down and about the way Jin and Hope responded to her. I knew they would take some time to warm up to her but to completely reject and ignore her like they did, I needed to talk to them asap.

She, on the other hand, slept like a brick. Once she flipped onto her stomach that's where she stayed, it was currently six in the morning. I had already been watching her for an hour with a ridiculous smile plastered on my face. I had so many questions for her, even though we could sometimes see each other's dreams and memories they weren't always clear or sensible so I didn't know her as well as one might think due to our connection. I especially had questions about the dreams regarding her parents, they were recurring and heartbreaking. Each time I connected to one of those dreams I woke up crying.

Light from outside my door funneled in when it was quietly opened by Jungkook, I had a feeling he was already awake too. I pushed my index finger against my lips signaling him to be quiet so Ma-ri wouldn't wake up but I think she was in a near coma and it would take much more than us talking to disturb her.

"Good morning hyung" he whispered then pecked my lips as he always does. If Ma-ri wasn't already there Jungkook would have found his way into my bed last night "Did you get any sleep"

"Morning Kookie, yeah I got a few hours" he gently sat on the bed scanning her body for himself

"Yesterday was crazy huh?"

"Very. Did you talk to Hoseok last night? I don't like that he just ignored her" I frowned.

"I tried to but he's being unreasonable. I explained the obvious but he just shook his head and said to leave the subject alone. Wasn't in the mood to argue with him" He rolled his eyes "What are we going to do? She needs to be close to us but she can't move in here with those two acting like asses towards her?"

"Even if they weren't I have a gut feeling she wouldn't live with us anyway, she's used to being alone and right now that's her comfort zone. She needs to be eased into living with all seven of us and that will take time. Ma-ri isn't used to having people want her and often pushes them away before they can hurt her, I fear she may be the most difficult soulmate to link with" I looked back at the dark brown sugar skin sprawled across my bed with a sigh.

"I wish we could've met her sooner" Jungkook said

"Me too. Is anyone else awake?"

"I didn't hear or see anyone else. I went to check on noona and hyung but they were both knocked out as well"

"Good, everyone needs the rest, especially those three. She's not even dreaming because her mind is so tired. I plan to let her sleep as long as she needs to"

"Can I stay here with you?" He asked with hopeful eyes

"Yeah, be careful not to wake her up though" he nodded, then pushed Ma-ri to the middle of my bed and laid beside her, laying a kiss on her forehead. She stirred a little and unknowingly flung her arm over his torso hugging him in her sleep. We shared a hushed laugh as I pulled the covers over the three of us. I was able to fall asleep again happily knowing Jungkook was just as excited as I was to have Ma-ri with us. I knew we had a long road ahead of us but as long as the eight of us were together I knew we would be okay,

When I woke up again the three of us were still in the same positions. Ma-ri was still clinging to Jungkook whose hand rested on her back. I carefully slid out the bed to use the bathroom. While I was there I showered and brushed my teeth then went back to my bedroom to get dressed. I decided to let everyone rest as much as they needed to and allow everyone to wake up on their own, we all obviously needed it. As I was leaving my room I noticed movement in Hoseok's room, perfect. I knocked on his door softly waiting for him to let me in

"Morning," he said, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Morning, how'd you sleep?" I asked closing the door behind me

"I slept alright."

"Talk to me, Hope" I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind letting my chin rest on his shoulder

"Yoongi, please let's not do this so early in the day. Jungkook fussed at me last night, can I at least have my breakfast first? Damn"

"Baby, I don't want to argue but don't you think you should at least apologize to Ma-ri? She's just as frustrated but she's not being an ass to you or Jin and she's scared...just be nice." his head dropped with an exasperated sigh. I unwrapped my arms from his body ready to leave him to finish getting ready for the day making a mental note to finish the conversation later.

"Aren't you afraid things will change?" he said with his back still facing me when I twisted the doorknob

"Yes but change isn't always bad Hope" he turned around with glossy eyes "Babe,"

"Yoongi, what if she takes you all away from me?" He questioned sitting down on his newly made bed. I knew he was worried about the dynamics of our relationship. I wished I could make him see how adding Ma-ri will only make it better. "She's female and can offer things that I can't. What if you love her more than me?" Hobi sniffled. I sat in his lap and hugged him

"Hoseok that's not possible, I love you so much and she can't change that. You're very special to me"

"You say that now but remember when you and Tae connected?"

"That was different, Taehyung needed the extra attention. He and I are so different so establishing our link took more of my time and energy but you and I share similarities so our link was almost no work at all" I explained, as I had done several times before over the years. That was a rough time for Hoseok and I and I really thought he was truly over it by now but I guess not.

"I understand that now but it doesn't take away the feelings of abandonment and neglect, I know that's not what you were doing at all but that was a tough time for me and I don't want to feel that way again"

"So what do you suggest I do? She IS our soulmate and that is not going to change," I stood up "So do what you need to do to come to terms with it because she's not going anywhere. I love you Hope, we are stuck together for life but I won't sit by and let you make Ma-ri feel like she doesn't belong when she clearly does."

"I'm sorry baby, I will apologize and make a real effort going forward but I need everyone to be patient with me. I love you too Suga" He also stood up and hugged me, pulling away he kissed me and I could tell he was sorry. I slipped my tongue between his soft lips, tasting the minty mouthwash he always uses. I dominate the kiss as usual while his hands squeeze me sides and a soft moan escaped his throat "I'm starting to crave you babe, don't make me wait much longer"

"I know and I won't, it's been a while for us. Let's try to get all the crazy shit settled first"

"Alright, thank you"

"Anytime" With Hoseok taken care of I made my way downstairs to get started on some breakfast. Since it was a cold and cloudy day I figured something warm would do the trick so I decided to make a large pot of budae jjigae.

While the stew was simmering I checked my messages and emails, most of them from our company and notifications mentioning our group in regards to Ma-ri. Unfortunately she has been identified, I could only imagine what her social media accounts looked like. I really wish everything had happened differently but at least this wasn't something we needed to hide but protecting Ma-ri was going to be hard. I turned off the fire and tasted the food before laddling a heaping portion into a bowl for myself. I sat at the table slurping and reading when I heard several voices enter the kitchen.

"Hyung, it smells amazing. What did you make" Jimin asked me pulling Taehyung with him to the stove

"Budae jjigae"

"Ooh thank you. Is Ma-ri still asleep?"

"Yes and nobody will be disturbing her. Let her sleep as long as she needs to. After the days she's had its very necessary for her to rest"

"Yes sir," Jimin replied. Taehyung sat next to me and laid his head on my shoulder while Jimin fixed both of their bowls.

"What's the matter Taehyung?"

"I'm still tired but I can't sleep any longer" I feed him a piece of sausage from my chopsticks

"We are not doing anything today, everyone just needs to stay still. Relax our bodies and our minds"

"I think that's a great idea" Namjoon hummed entering the kitchen "Jungkook must be in your room, I went to check on him and he's not in his bed"

"He is still in there with Ma-ri" he nodded in understanding. I was already finished eating so I decided to fix his food for him. Namjoon works so hard and needs to be catered to every once in a while "Namjoon-ah sit, I'll bring you some stew"

'It's alright hyung I can do it myself"

"I know you can but I said sit" He put his hands up in playful surrender. He sat down fixing his black beanie over his hair. Jimin sat in my spot next to Taehyung and began feeding him.

Minji and Minsu wandered out of the guestroom, both looking lost. I waved them over and filled up two more empty bowls for them as well. They sat next to Namjoon putting Minji in the middle and Minsu in the end seat. They both thanked me for the food and dug in alongside Joon.

"This is so good, and just the perfect amount of spicy" Minji growled

"Taehyung can't eat super spicy food so we had to alter the original recipe for him" I explained leaning against the counter with my arms folded over my chest.

"It's really delicious," Minsu added, slurping up noodles. It was quiet for a few minutes but only because everyone except me was eating. Halfway through her portion Minji spoke up

"How's my sister doing? Is she still asleep?"

"Yeah, she's in my bed with Jungkook, they're both dead to the world right now"

"Good, she hasn't been sleeping well the last few days"

"Can I ask you a personal question about Ma-ri?" Jimin asked making eye contact with her siblings

"Sure"

"Why is she in so much emotional distress? She is so sad and cries a lot and I've noticed it has increased much more since she's been in Korea" Good question. I had a vague idea but we were all hoping they could shed some additional light on the emotional and mental status of our newest soulmate.

"There are several variables that attribute to her sadness, most recently we just found out that our father and mothers were soulmates but the relationship was unsuccessful" The stunned silence that filled the room was tense. Their parent's were soulmates? That raised even more questions as the four of us shared a telepathic thought "Honestly I'm still trying to process it but it must have been true"

She took a water break and in walked Hoseok and Jin, their timing could not have been better. Hoseok squeezed my shoulder in passing while greeting everyone. Jin said a general hello and made himself at home on a stool at the island, isolating himself from the group. I would ask Namjoon to talk to him later, Jin is more likely to listen to him.

"Why didn't your parents' relationship work out?" Taehyung asked chewing

"According to our mother, Mi-kyung, she was jealous of Ma-ri's mother and didn't want to share our dad with her. So our father stayed in America with Carla and Ma-ri until she was seven, they moved here and four years later my dad came back to us but never saw or talked to them ever again. He left them without even saying goodbye so Ma-ri grew up hating our father because he abandoned them and she never knew why until the day before yesterday after his funeral"

"Well, shit" Hoseok exclaimed, dropping his chopsticks

"Right" Minsu commented before carrying on with the story "A few years after dad left them, Carla committed suicide and that was just salt in the wound for her. Apparently her maternal grandmother raised her in America and this was her first time in Korea in over ten years. Our mom admitted that she knew about them ever since Ma-ri was three years old but never told us. We only found out about her a week before our dad died, he told us we have a younger sister and what her name was so noona found her on Facebook"

"Wow, that's... I don't even know what to say. Why didn't your parents tell you about her sooner?" I asked.

"Our mother didn't like the fact that dad had another family, even though Carla was also his soulmate. I don't know why dad waited so long to tell us, maybe in a way he was trying to protect Ma-ri" Minji shrugged, then finished her food. I glanced at Seokjin to see him into his bowl that was still full. "Ma-ri has been through a lot and learning that she and her mother were rejected by our mom only to have the same experience of her own soulmates rejecting her is too much. She doesn't deserve that, she may not be able to admit it or think so but Ma-ri needs you guys, ALL of you" She really has been through a lot it seems like her entire trip was just one big "fuck you" after another.

Again the room fell silent for a minute, as if everyone was thinking about what to say next. Jungkook came downstairs with damp hair, obviously fresh from a shower, looking around the kitchen to see everybody except Ma-ri.

"What's going on? Did something else happen?" he asked

"No, we were just having breakfast. I made budae jjigae so help yourself"

"Ooh thank you hyung. She'll be down in a little while, she wanted to take a shower first" Jungkook filled the last two empty bowls and set them on the table where he began eating. Not even five minutes later Ma-ri finally joined us, she looked physically rested but I could tell her mind was still hazy and tired.

"Good morning everyone" she

"Morning" everyone replied in unison.

"Here, eat. Yoongi hyung made stew for everyone" Jungkook tapped the table where the bowl of hot food was waiting. She gave me a small smile before sitting down and eating.

"Umm" Hoseok cleared his throat "Ma-ri, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday and properly introduce myself. I am Jung Hoseok and we also share an emotional connection"

"Thank you Hoseok" she ate her food quickly, guess she was really hungry too. Afterwards Taehyung offered to wash up the dishes.

"Ma-ri I don't want to leave you but we need to freshen up and Minsu has to talk to his boss. All of us have been identified and I'm sure our mom is probably freaking out right now" We moved to the living room where everyone had a seat, Mari sat between Namjoon and her sister

"Fuck!" she swore rubbing her face "I hate that y'all are wrapped up in my drama"

"It's really not your fault Ma-ri, this was meant to happen and I think we all wish it wasn't publicized but I'm glad you know you mates now and I have no doubt that everything will work out in time" Minsu said grabbing her hand, rubbing it for added assurance.

"We are here for you"

"The van's here" Namjoon said

"Okay, I'll call you later" the siblings hugged then Minji and Minsu were out the door leaving Ma-ri alone with us.

"So what happens now?" Ma-ri asked looking around at the seven of us expectantly