Next to dancing, Hoseok likes to watch people dancing – and next to it, Hoseok likes to make people dance.

Choreographing, in Hoseok’s sense, happens to fall into the third category and second and first category at the same time. Therefore he didn’t think twice on accepting their producer’s offer to be absorbed into the dance formation line as soon as his contract as Bangtan expired. It is the first decision he has done by not consulting anyone and two years have passed without him regretting an ounce of it.

Hoseok is put in charge of their hoobae’s choreography for almost a year now, and only two months ago he is given another responsibility to train a bunch of boys for the next debut. That means twice the work but twice as chances, as he sees it. These boys – the trainees – are still eager eyed, the passionate glint that is getting dim in their sunbae’s eyes is still shining so bright, firing Hoseok up to come up with dance numbers that will show them in their highest potential.

It’s almost as if raising children, Hoseok finds himself thinking sometimes before chuckling to himself. It seems like he has reached such age – to think of getting a family of his own.

Sometimes, though, he still sees himself in one of the boys, and his former members in the others. Sometimes he stops himself just in time before he calls Jeonhyung as Jeongguk, sometimes he slips up and giggles apologetically to the 15-year-old. Sometimes the rapper Minjoo comes to him for some comments on his rap and Hoseok reminisces on the sleepless night with Namjoon and Yoongi as they worked on their respective parts.

Sometimes he catches timid Taehwan stealing glances at the eldest Jikyung and Hoseok is reminded of their own Jimin and Yoongi.

He wonders what he should do. He wonders if he could do anything at all.

Hoseok prided himself as the observant one in Bangtan; he likes to think that he had seen everything. He saw Jeongguk and Taehyung pulling themselves right on the edge, he saw Jimin and Yoongi falling head first into the abyss.

He wonders if he could save Taehwan and Jikyung this time around, or falling is the best for them.

The other members might have thought that Jimin was the obvious one, the way he got so clingy with all the other members but skirted around Yoongi as if he would get electrocuted if he got too close, or the way his smile lit up that special way when it comes about the said rapper.

Hoseok is inclined to disagree.

Yoongi was – is – the obvious one. It was more apparent to Hoseok who had been with Yoongi among the original line-up of Bangtan, before the company decided to add some vocals in. Yoongi was easy to work with, passionate with his raps, helpful and full of ideas and he fell in line with other rappers and pulled Hoseok along without much effort at all. He needed his space when he was not working but Hoseok was fine with that because Yoongi had stayed when the other rapper left one by one, leaving only Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi from the original line.

The addition of vocal line did not sit well with Yoongi but he said nothing about it. He was indifferent towards Jeongguk, and came off a bit intimidating to Taehyung, and respected Seokjin as the eldest – and adored Jimin.

Hoseok had to stop and think for a while when he first noticed it; because Jimin and Seokjin had come around the same time. But over time it was clear; that it was Jimin who – unconsciously and definitely unintentionally – pulled Yoongi out of his safe zone, made the rapper smiles and laughs more, and appreciates other things beyond hip hops. Namjoon was too preoccupied to notice but Hoseok could not miss it even if he wanted to; the way Yoongi started to put more effort on dance, and showed more playful sides towards the younger members and spent a little bit more time with a certain dancer from Busan.

Things flowed in such way it was beyond Hoseok’s control after that and even now he wonders if he had a control over it, would he make it any other way?

Perhaps he could have made it less painful for both of them.

Yes, Hoseok knows it’s painful because it was him Yoongi had come to – when they were sobering up after the disbandment party.

“I want to stay with him,” the words had come out slurred, but sure – in a drawl that did not sound like Yoongi’s sober one.

Hoseok did not have to ask who Yoongi meant, because there was always only one for Yoongi.

“Then, stay,” Hoseok had said good-naturedly. “He would like it. I think he’d probably like it more than any other way.”

Yoongi hung his head for a while, staring at the rough marble of the floor – Hoseok wondered if it’s the future that Yoongi was seeing, or the past. Either one had made Yoongi lost in thought anyway, and Hoseok waited, and waited.

He was alarmed when Yoongi swayed on his spot, but breathed out in relief when Yoongi leaned his head on the wall of the stairs, apparently conscious.

“Stay,” Yoongi repeated, his eyes glassy, though Hoseok was not sure if it’s drowsiness or sudden influx of emotions. “- and then, what? I have no idea of what to do with him – or for him – I only want to stay, want to keep him close but I can’t see where we would end; if we’ll make it to the end at all – if I don’t break him apart along the way. I don’t know what to do –“

“Then, stay,” Hoseok said it firmly this time, because Yoongi had made the decision for himself, even if he could not see it yet. “Stay and figure it out, hyung. Even if you won’t figure it out forever, you’ll find just staying is enough.”